Just A Simple Love Story
by rcruz1234
Summary: AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 1)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13 (mostly for language)  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I love this pairing, but this was a different type of story for me and I struggled with parts of it. It's AU and you'll see pretty clearly and early the places where it diverges from cannon. I believe all fanfiction is really one huge alternative universe, so I have no problems changing the histories of the characters somewhat to suit the story. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, disclaimer, so I've tried to keep the medical jargon to a bare minimum. I am also unfamiliar with the hiring practices of major hospitals or residency programs, so I've made up what I need to fit the story. Updates won't come as quickly as my last story, since the editing and rewriting process has been long and laborious for this story. The story is for the most part complete, but there is still an epilogue in my head that I think belongs, but I'm still working through what that should look like. Feedback is most welcome. This is all really great practice for me, so feedback is most appreciated.

Chapter 1: Girl Meets Girl

The dim hallways lent an eerie feeling to the large area that was the surgical floor at Seattle Grace. Dr. Callie Torres was walking down the hall, the sound of her boots hitting the hard floor clashed with the beeps and whirs that rang throughout the space. Her eyes shifted upward towards the large analog clock on the wall as she turned a corner, noting that she had three more hours until the end of her shift. Hopefully no emergencies would come in. She could never be sure that an orthopedic surgeon would not be needed in Seattle even at 3am. Anything requiring surgery that came in now would most undoubtedly mean she would get home late, which would also mean less time spent with her six-year-old daughter Allie.

She headed purposely to the resident's lounge smiling when she saw two other residents already there. Alex Karev was eating his lunch or dinner at the table. Callie wasn't sure what meal it was technically since it was the middle of the night. Christina Yang lounged on the battered brown couch that lay at the far end of the room away from the table and microwave. Callie could hear the incessant thumping of bass that leaked out from Karev's ear buds. She sat down with a smile, wondering when or if he would notice her presence. Karev was a loner like her, having never actually established a real connection with any of the residents in his class. She knew he was harboring a huge crush on Izzie Stephens, but he seemed content to do absolutely nothing about it. He bickered and bantered with the others, but he had no friends among them and seemed to not want any.

He looked up, acknowledged her with his eyes and returned to his microwave dinner. Callie picked up the newspaper that had been left on the table, taking a few moments to read headlines before beginning to fill in the blank spaces on the unfinished crossword puzzle.

The other resident in the room, Christina Yang, was reading a medical journal, her small thin body casually draped over the couch. Callie thought about how little Christina had changed. For awhile there she had been unrecognizable, walking the halls in a zombie like state as if nothing mattered, nothing could touch her, not caring about her career, surgeries, anyone or anything. But she seemed to have put her failed relationship with the previous head of the cardiothoracic department behind her and was now back to normal or as normal as Christina could get. She was back to the highly competitive, bad-ass, obsessive about surgery Christina. It had really scared Callie to see Christina in that dark and twisty place, as Yang's best buddy, Meredith Grey had called it. Christina hadn't cried or shouted or even attempted to break anything after having been left at the altar. She had been silent, walking the halls like a drone not caring if she performed surgeries or not. She had gone as far as spending entire shifts charting during that time. It was eerie and had disturbed Callie who had liked the honest, obnoxious and confident Yang when she had first met her. Callie had offered Christina a place to stay after her fiasco of a relationship with Preston Burke had crashed and burned, so they had become sort of friends. She had only stayed with Callie for a few months. Christina was not a loner, but she definitely needed her own space. Even the relatively chaos free Torres household that consisted of Callie and Allie had been too much for her after awhile.

It had been a disaster from the beginning, Yang and Burke, and that it had indeed imploded had not come as a surprise to Callie. Sadly it had also not surprised her that Preston Burke had abandoned Seattle Grace after only two years. The rumor mill had been busy spewing stories about Burke for the entire two years he was there. The most persistent rumor being that his real purpose for coming to Seattle Grace had nothing to do with improving the cardiothoracic department and everything to do with the Chief of Surgery position. The cardiothoracic department was Seattle Grace's only weak spot, lagging behind other hospitals' cardiothoracic programs and in no position to break into the national rankings. Ultimately it affected the entire program's national ranking and as a result the hospital's teaching program was barely remaining in the top twenty.

Preston Burke had been hired to change that. He had a stellar reputation and the hope was that he would attract interesting patients and talented residents that could help build it up. But apparently Burke had never really wanted the task, had wanted the Chief of Surgery position instead and when the current Chief of Surgery, Richard Webber, withdrew his resignation, Burke had just left, effectively abandoning the program and his department. He left the hospital, told Christina he couldn't marry her and just disappeared. Christina had taken the defection well or so everyone thought until Burke re-emerged a few weeks later, writing a scathing article about teaching programs that singled out Seattle Grace as a cesspool of inappropriate behavior, especially among its residents. The article had caused a stir for awhile, but everyone knew Burke had been bitter and his allegations un-substantiated. The article died a quick death and things returned to normal, except that Christina had started to act like a zombie. But things seemed to have settled down now. Christina was back to her old self, they still had a shitty cardiothoracic department and life went on.

Karev finished his meal, depositing the tray in the trash. He removed his headphones and asked the women, "Do you think anything will come in?"

"Don't know," answered Christina. "It's pretty late or early depending on your point of view. Highly doubt it though."

Christina was clearly bored. She was crazy about medicine and especially surgery and didn't like going too long without cutting someone up. It was like a drug for her. She even got twitchy if she went too long without performing a surgery, almost as if she was going through withdrawal.

"Well listen," Karev's voice broke into Callie's thoughts. "I'm gonna go do some charting."

"Right. Don't worry you'll get paged if anything comes in," said Callie her focus still on filling in the final blanks in the crossword.

She knew Karev just wanted to go somewhere private, listen to his music or maybe even sleep. Third shift was a bitch. Karev left the room, headphones back securely on his ears.

Callie turned to Christina, "Any attendings here tonight?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course not. You know the drill - page them if you need them. Hey you're off tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well a friend of mine is performing at Rumors. You still owe me a dinner, so I thought if you wanted, I could collect on that dinner and then we could go and check out the show. You in?"

Callie's eyes shifted as she considered it. "Maybe. No offense Christina, but why do you want me along? Meredith dump you or something? We don't exactly run in the same crowd. I'm usually more into running around with six-year olds to soccer games."

"Callie you need to get out more. I thought it would be fun and besides, I need to talk to you about some work stuff outside of this place, stuff that I can't talk to Meredith about. Come on, Torres, you owe me. You can bail on me if going to Rumors is a bit much for you. I know women your age need your beauty rest." Christina smiled at her.

Callie gave her a look that was equal parts outrage and defiance. "I'm game, I'll just have to make a call to Nell." She stopped. "Wait a minute, Rumors is a gay bar right? Christina, is that what you want to tell me?"

"No!" shouted Christina. "I need to talk to about some work related stuff. My friend just happens to be performing there. She's gay, not me, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand, although with your checkered past - you know resident with a fatherless child and all - I didn't think I'd find anything that made you uncomfortable."

"You won't and no it doesn't. I just thought maybe there was something else not work related that you needed to tell me. Let me check with Nell and see if she can take Allie tomorrow night."

"Excellent"

"What is it you want to talk to me about anyway?" she asked putting down the crossword.

"I'm thinking of trying to transfer. This hospital was one of my choices because Burke was here, but he's not here anymore and no offense but the cardiothoracic program here sucks. That's going to be my specialty and I need to learn from someone kick ass. Burke left and there is no one kick ass here."

"Where would you go and how likely is that?"

"Well, I would love to go to Presbyterian General in Bentley. That department kicks our ass. It was my second choice originally. They have a kick ass cardio program. The rest of their surgical programs suck, so they don't rank as high, but their cardio department makes up for it - for me anyway. The lottery being what it is Meredith and I ended up here. I thought it was great when Burke was here, but now, I'd like to see if I could go to Bentley."

"Wow, really?"

"It's something I'm thinking about," said Christina turning back to her article.

"Okay, well I'll let you know tomorrow. If Nell can't stay with Allie, just come over and we can talk and have dinner at my house anyway. If she can, I'll go out to Rumors with you."

Callie went back to the puzzle contemplating what Christina had told her. She would miss her if she left. Bentley was only an hour away, but with their schedules, she knew they would never see each other. It made her sad. She didn't have a lot of friends at Seattle Grace. There weren't a lot of women in Ortho and trying to raise a child alone while doing a highly intense and competitive residency left little time for socializing. Christina had been an easy friend to make precisely because she made absolutely no demands. Callie looked at the clock again; two and half hours to go until she could go home and see Allie off to school.

* * *

The bar was a bar and Callie silently cursed herself for agreeing to this. She'd had enough of stuffy, dingy, dark and smoky during her days as a bartender trying to get through undergrad without having to ask her father for spending money, but she had agreed to go and she suspected that perhaps Christina needed her there as a buffer. Despite her bravado and the fact that she was going to see her friend, Callie suspected that Christina needed someone with her, someone who was not interested in her in _that_ way.

Callie made her way to the front of the bar with some pushing and elbowing. To say that the bar was crowded was a serious understatement. You'd think this was the only lesbian bar in Seattle. She ordered four beers in anticipation. She doubted Christina would be able to find them a table and she didn't want to make another trip through the mayhem, so she got extra.

She put some bills on the bar, expertly grabbed her beers by their necks, holding them over her head as she plowed her way out of the mayhem, eyes peeled for Christina. She saw skinny arms waving frantically and made her way to them. It was a tiny table, but it was a table. She set the bottles down and sat on a rickety chair.

"How did you manage a table?" she shouted as she opened both beers handing one to Christina.

"I told you I got an invite. This was reserved for us. The nice bouncer lady told me."

Callie looked at her skeptically. "Okay, whatever," she said turning to look at the throngs of women. She had been to gay bars before, but had never seen one quite so crowded. Christina was gulping down her beer, eyes nervously shifting from woman to woman. Callie laughed. Her suspicions now confirmed. She had been invited to tag along with Christina because Christina had been nervous about coming here alone, no matter how cool she said she was with her friend's lesbian status.

"Nervous?" she teased.

"Um...no. No way. Not nervous," answered Christina quickly.

"So what's the name of your friend's band?" asked Callie.

"Um...I don't really know. I didn't even know she was in a band. Actually I'm not sure she's really in the band. She just said she was playing here."

"She's your good friend and you don't even know the name of the band? We are sitting at some special tiny, reserved table and you don't know if she's even _in_ the band?"

Christina rolled her eyes. "Can it Torres. I haven't spoken to her in like a year or so. We've exchanged a few emails and voice mails, but we never connected live. Anyway, she said she wanted to talk. She said nothing about the band, just that she was going to be playing here. I was curious and you needed a night out."

"Yeah, thanks for that," said Callie sarcastically. "No chance of scoring for me here."

"Whatever, Ms. Mom. At least it's something. You don't even come out to Joe's anymore. I know the thing with George ended badly, but you need to get back out there, Callie."

"No I don't," she answered Christina. "I only need me and my daughter. That's it."

Callie was looking towards the tiny stage where a few people were milling about fiddling with instruments.

"Callie," Christina started, "your only companion can't be a six year old girl. For one thing, she'll grow up."

Callie ignored her, still watching the growing number of people on the stage. They were dressed in black and in the dark dingy space it was hard to make out anything but shapes. Except for the tall blond whose white shirt and blonde hair stood out like a beacon. She had been hanging back, but as the number of people on stage increased the blonde seemed to become fidgety. The chaos amplified as the number of people and instruments on stage rose. People were bumping into each other until the blonde came to the forefront. She started directing people here and there, sometimes physically moving individuals until the space looked less crowded and more ordered. Callie smiled. You had to love that take charge attitude. She vaguely heard Christina going on about the surgeries she had performed today.

Right at this very moment the subject bored Callie. She continued watching the intriguing blonde commanding the stage, finding the process kind of fascinating. She liked surgery, loved it actually. She was after all a surgeon, but with her crazy hospital schedule and raising a small child, sometimes she didn't want to think about surgery when she was not in the hospital, so she changed the subject.

"How'd you and your friend meet? And what's her name by the way?"

"Erica Hahn. You know, _the_ Erica Hahn, cardiothoracic genius presently residing at and running the Cardio department at Presbyterian General in Bentley. You know the department that kicks our cardiothoracic department's ass on a regular basis?"

"Where you want to transfer to? That's not my field, but I think I've heard the name before."

"Yeah, you have. Dr. Webber is always bitching about the huge mistake he made in not hiring her when she applied for an attending position."

"Where did you two meet and how is someone like that your friend?" asked Callie.

"She was a lecturer when I was at Berkley. She was doing her residency there and would come lecture the pre-med and med school students. You would like her. She's wicked smart and loved making med students cry. She probably still does. She would come in and give a lecture and then put everyone through these drills where she would just fire question after question at you. She would practically cut you in half if she found you lacking."

"She ever cut you?" asked Callie trying to concentrate on Christina, but finding her gaze returning to the stage periodically.

"Hell yeah! It was like a badge of honor to get cut down by her. It was cool as hell."

"How did you become friends? She sounds like a real pill."

"The usual. I just squirmed and ingratiated myself until she talked to me. She was kick ass, so I had to get to know her. She said I was annoying, but I didn't care. She eventually talked to me. She has never stopped telling me how annoying I am though and how she only talks to me because she has no choice, but here I am." She raised her beer in mock salute.

"That is not a friendship," stated Callie.

"Whatever. She gave me advice when I was applying to med schools and helped me rank residency programs to the best advantage. She's the reason Meredith and I both ended up at Seattle Grace. Doesn't that make her a friend?"

"Do you have normal friendships?" asked Callie.

"Well, yeah, you and Meredith."

"That is so not normal. So why did she ask you to come? Is it going to be a problem, me being here?" Callie asked intrigued. She glanced back at the stage where the blonde had donned a very cool looking guitar. Christina followed her gaze this time, eyes widening.

"Holy crap! That's Erica."

Callie blinked. "That's your friend, the famous Dr. Erica Hahn?"

"Hell yeah! Frak me!"

"What?" asked Callie feeling a moment, small really, but a moment of excitement nonetheless that she would get to meet the blonde she had been watching tonight.

"Just that...well...damn that girl can work a scalpel and a guitar? I want to be her."

Callie laughed. "Can she really play?" she asked Christina raising her voice to be heard above the din of the crowd.

"Don't know," answered Christina tilting her beer slightly towards Erica and pausing. "Never heard her."

Christina leaned closer as the band starting warming up. "I think she's up there in the genius pool, so I can only imagine that yes she can probably play too. I doubt she would get up on stage to make a fool of herself."

Christina's speech was interrupted by the loud blare of music that accompanied a petite blonde with short hair onto the stage.

"Good evening my fellow bar-hoppers. Thanks for coming out. I assure you that I am NOT and I mean NOT here to waste time, so let's get to it. We have a number of acts tonight, but let's start by welcoming back one of our favorites back my popular demand, please welcome onto the stage Water Under the Bridge."

Wild applause erupted in the small enclosed space. Christina and Callie looked at each other with surprised looks.

"I guess they've been here before," Christina said to Callie smiling as she focused on the stage and the lights illuminating the band.

Even through the smoke Callie could distinguish Christina's friend, her long lanky form, gliding on the stage with strong confidence. Christina turned her head and caught Callie's reaction. Callie's mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide, and even in the dark space, her face appeared flush. Christina frowned. If she didn't know better she would think Callie might be smitten. But she did know better and so put the thought firmly out of her mind.

Callie was mesmerized. Her eyes were riveted on one very tall, very sexy doctor, playing rock star for a night, strumming an electric guitar with everything she had. Somehow the lights and the smoke and the guitar were affecting Callie in unexpected ways. Even from a distance she could see the power and the um…sexuality that was fairly oozing off of the guitar player. Wow was her only coherent thought. She shook her head slightly willing herself to focus her thoughts more clearly, more to her liking and away from the tall blonde haired woman casually strumming a guitar, eyes intensely focused on the task at hand. Dr. Hahn looked up from the guitar and made eye contact with a few patrons briefly, gracing them with a shy smile. For a moment Callie wished that one of those smiles was directed at her and then laughed at the thought. _Get a grip Callie._

Thirty minutes later, Callie was in the ladies room jostling with a horde of women for space in front of the mirror over the sinks. She called up the part of her personality that allowed her to survive four years as a bartender at one of the roughest bars on campus, as well as a tough residency in an area dominated by men and let the crowd behind her disappear and fade into the background. With fierce glances and set shoulders she staked out her personal space and concentrated on the face looking back at her in the mirror. She was flushed, from the heat she guessed and probably too much beer. That was it. It wasn't sexy Erica Hahn that was making her feel all flustered. It was the situation.

She had excused herself immediately after Erica and the band left the stage. There were still a few more acts to get through, but Callie needed to regroup before Erica joined them at the table as she most assuredly would. After all, Christina was her guest, a friend, she had been especially invited. Of course Erica would come say hello and Callie had to mentally, and from the looks of it, physically pull herself together. She pondered her reaction to the excellent performance she had just experienced trying to find reasons that had nothing to do with the guitar player for the increased beating of her heart, and the barely discernable pink flush that had taken up permanent residence on her dark face.

She had recognized the sensual feeling that was permeating her entire body during the performance, but explained it away quickly. _Just haven't had any in awhile that's all and she's tall. __I've always liked them tall._ Of course that wouldn't explain George, but she didn't like to think about that colossal mistake. Besides when she said she liked them tall, she usually meant of the male variety with accessories that Erica could not possess. _Alright Callie, pull it together here, it's just attraction, it happens. __So she's a girl. __She's a really hot girl. __You can appreciate a really hot girl. __Get over it. It doesn't mean a thing._

With that final thought she turned away from the mirror reasoning that it was dark and no one would notice if she looked completely turned on. She found her way back to the table to find Erica Hahn, all nearly six sexy feet of her plopped down in Callie's seat speaking animatedly to Christina.


	2. Chapter 2

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 2)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I started this with the idea that I wanted to try an alternative approach to the coming together of these two gals – one that did not include over the top gay panic (i.e. sleeping with Mark). It took on a life of its own and turned into something completely different. As the story is AU there are significant differences between what happened on the screen and what's happening here, however, there are some parallels that will start to crop up – kind of. This is another snippet of the night at Rumors. I'm posting as I finish re-working parts, so the chapter breaks might not always make sense, but I'm trying to update regularly. Once again, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so I've tried to keep the medical jargon to a bare minimum. I am also unfamiliar with how scheduling works in major hospitals, so I've made up the parts I need. Feedback is most welcome. This is all really great practice for me, so feedback is most appreciated.

Chapter 2 – Girls Make a Date (kind of)

"Hi, I'm Erica." Erica rose extending her hand.

Callie automatically extended her own and felt strong but slender fingers curl over her hand. Through eyes bleary from smoke, Callie looked up into the bluest most mesmerizing eyes she had ever seen. "Hey," she managed.

"This is Callie. She's a fifth year resident at Seattle Grace," shouted Christina.

"Nice to meet you Callie. I seem to have taken your chair." Erica moved slowly away from the chair never taking her eyes off Callie.

"Thanks," answered Callie nervously. "I'm sure a big shot like you has some connections - enough to get you a chair at least."

"Hey you can have this one Erica."

Erica turned her head towards the voice which seemed to belong to the woman sitting at the next table.

"Thanks," she smiled meekly at the stranger offering her a chair.

"S'alright" the short woman answered. "My friend has effectively left for the evening. She only came to see you gals play."

She tried to give Erica the come hither look, failing miserably. Erica gave her a friendly, but somewhat confused half smile as she took the offered chair from the stranger's table and set it down in front of Christina's. She turned back to Christina.

"Sorry. All the smoke and loud music gets to my head, makes me slower. I have no idea who that is or how she knows my name. Thank God I don't do this regularly or all my brain cells would be gone."

Callie watched the confident woman babble surprised at the nervousness she was sensing. There was no way this woman had any reason to be nervous about anything. She took a sip of her beer and settled in to watch Christina and her friend.

Erica was babbling and she knew it and she also knew the reason and if she could, she would just kick herself. She had come over immediately after her set was over, somewhat disappointed to find the very cute and sexy brunette that had been sitting next to Christina gone. She had tried for nonchalant, but couldn't hide the grin that came to her face when Christina told her that the brunette had not left the bar, was in fact only visiting the restroom. Dropping all pretenses she had hurriedly taken the vacant seat at the table and whispered in Christina's ear.

"Please don't tell me that you have come out and that hot little number that was sitting next to you is with you."

It was unfamiliar the teasing with Christina and so it was not a surprise that Christina had practically choked on the beer she had been drinking.

"No. Sorry to disappoint, but still straight," said Christina after a few coughs. She tilted her almost empty bottle of beer towards the restroom as she continued. "Sorry, but Callie also plays for my team."

Disappointment clouded Erica's eyes but only for a few fleeting moments.

"Always liked a challenge," she had smirked seconds before Callie had walked up to their table.

And now she was feeling guilty about that comment. She didn't have those kinds of thoughts anymore or at least she didn't want to have them. Lucas had changed that. She did not have to time to play around. She spared a thought for the sweet seven year old boy who was now legally her son. He had been the catalyst for important changes in her life. For example, she no longer trolled bars chasing women she had no intention of seeing again, just for the perverse thrill of the chase. No, the old Erica would have relished chasing the brunette, straight or gay. The new Erica would need to lock up those out of control desires somewhere. A waitress approached with three new beers just as she and Callie had settled into their chairs.

"So, you work at Seattle Grace. Do you like it?" asked Erica directing the conversation toward Callie.

"Yes. I love my job. Hate the hours, but that's a resident's life. It's exciting, it challenges me and I think in a small way I'm helping people."

"Don't think like that," answered Erica. "Small," she clarified at Callie's confused look. "I'm sure you're helping people in a big way. We're doctors. It's what we do, help people, I mean. Don't shy away from it. It's important what we do."

Erica regretted her brash tone. She was usually brash and aggressive, but she had been trying to tone it down. She was not naturally social so social situations tended to rattle her and a rattled Erica put up shields and deflected and was decidedly unfriendly and a little gruff. That was why she liked the trolling. Those were not exactly social situations; it was about meeting a very specific need. She was trying to change and be more social, but change was difficult and yet tonight she wanted to get it right. It was a new beginning for her and Lucas. She would be starting a new job soon and that provided her with an opportunity to try and earn a new nickname besides bitch.

This would be a good start, right here with Christina and most especially with this sexy fifth year resident, looking a bit dazed and flushed right now.

Erica turned a somewhat worried glance toward Callie afraid she might have offended her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah" Callie rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "Haven't done this in a while, sorry. Hey your set was great by the way. Do you do this often?"

"Actually no. The band has been here a few times, hence their," Erica extended her long arms outward indicating the small crowd, "legions of fans. A friend of mine is in the band. She asked me to fill-in for their regular lead guitar who has a broken wrist. I did. People seem to think its okay, so here I am."

"Hey how come this is the first time you've asked me to come out and watch?" said Christina.

"It's not the first time I've asked you to _come out_, but you keep refusing," Erica teased putting a noticeable emphasis on the 'coming out' portion of the sentence. She loved teasing Christina if for nothing else because it was somewhat easy to get a rise out of her. Christina was brilliant, but her focus was rarely on people and their interactions which meant plenty of opportunities to bewilder and confuse her. And sure enough, Christina was getting confused.

"No you haven't....wait...What?" Her eyes got wide as understanding finally dawned on her. "Whatever," she said to Erica as she sipped from her beer.

"Seriously, I wanted to give you some news and ask for your help," continued Erica her eyes which had been playful only a few seconds before now turned serious causing Christina to unconsciously straighten her posture in the uncomfortable chair.

"Okay," said Christina in a somewhat grave tone. "What's going on?"

Erica smiled. "Christina I am not about to tell you that the world is ending or anything, or that I'm straight and married with a seven year-old – nothing earth shattering like that." She rolled her eyes at Callie who was smiling at the interactions.

"I'm starting a new job. I'll be coming to Seattle Grace in about a month and I was wondering…"

Christina slammed her drink down. "Get out? You're coming to Grace?" She looked at Callie as if wanting her to confirm that she was not in some dream.

"Yeah and I was wondering if you could help with a few things. I need to find a place to live and I need to know a little about the area - where the good schools are, safe neighborhoods, that kind of thing. I've done all the research, but I think those stats can be pretty deceiving. I thought maybe you could help."

"For real, you're coming to Grace?" asked Christina again in disbelief.

"Yes, in a month. I'll be heading up your cardiothoracic department."

Christina's eyes widened further. "We are so going to be kick ass!" she shouted. "Whatever you need, Hahn, I'll help. You need me to help you move, set up your office, whatever, I'll do whatever."

"You're getting annoying Yang."

"Okay, yeah, I see that, okay. Well, what do you need Dr. Hahn?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "Okay the whole Dr. Hahn thing is even more annoying. I just need you to point me to the right neighborhood. I need to find a decent neighborhood with good schools."

Christina was confused. "Why do you need to know about the schools?" She was smirking as she continued, "It's not like you're married and have a seven-year-old kid or anything, right?"

"No, not married, but yes to the kid part," Erica answered.

Christina dropped her beer. Thankfully her hands were on the table, so the bottle didn't have far to go. Callie reacting on instinct and adept at preventing spills lunged for the beer as it hit the table and started to tip. She righted it immediately and looked between the two friends. She was intrigued. She rested her forearms on the edge of the table, circling her own beer bottle with two hands. Christina was still in shock.

"You have a seven-year old kid?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes" was Erica's single-word response.

"You? You are a mom? When the hell did that happen and why didn't you tell me! Jesus, Hahn we've been friends for a damn long time and I don't keep in touch with most people, but I do with you. A seven year old?"

Christina slumped back in her chair. Erica did not know whether Christina was mad or hurt that she had not shared her news before this moment. It was unlike Yang to be hurt by anything even remotely personal. And it was completely out of character for Erica to apologize for anything, but especially anything having to with her personal life. But here they were, Yang pouting just slightly and she about to apologize.

"I'm sorry. It was a…delicate situation and I was trying to keep it low-profile. The only people that knew were Sam and Danielle and ..." She hesitated, seeming to find something intriguing at the bottom of her now empty beer bottle. "And of course my mother, who doesn't give a damn, so she doesn't count," she was able to get out in a rush.

Erica set the beer down, wishing internally for a full bottle when a waitress with another three beers approached again. "I like this service," she said to herself, but her voice carried to the other two women as the lights dimmed and the next set of performers prepared to take the stage. She distinctly heard Callie chuckle.

* * *

The three of them remained at the table during the less than stellar performances. Every once in awhile Christina glared at Erica and shook her head. Erica could not quite believe Christina was all that upset. Maybe she was putting on a show for Callie, she thought. She looked over at Callie and felt bad that this woman had to witness this very stupid little spat. She didn't want this beautiful woman's first impression of her to be of this childish nonsense. Beautiful women should never have to see any ugliness, no matter how stupid and petty.

She nudged Callie lightly with a hand, the other was casually holding up Erica's heavy head. Callie turned slowly. For a moment, Erica wondered if the news had also upset Callie. There was no reason it should, should it? Unless she thought lesbians shouldn't be raising children.

But then if her thoughts went along those lines, what was she doing here? She pushed those questions aside and focused on the beauty in front her; the dark hair over a soft delicate face that was open and inviting with dark brown eyes that were a little cloudy, most likely from the beers she'd been drinking. Erica was mesmerized. This was a woman who liked to smile. _I bet her whole face lights up when she smiles._ Callie had turned at the nudge, lifting an inquiring brow and bringing Erica back to the moment and the reason for the nudge.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed. Callie gave her a confused look. Erica smiled at her quickly recognizing that her apology could neither be shouted over loud music nor mouthed silently. She leaned over placing her lips near Callie's ear. "I'm sorry, you had to witness that. I mean to see us fighting...sort of. I didn't really think Christina would care."

She sat back in her chair, hoping that her rather terse apology would convey what she wanted and acutely aware that she could not have continued whispering in Callie's ear without betraying how her body seemed to be responding to the dark-haired woman. She tried relaxing, glad for the music and the beer she held in her hand. She sighed. Sometimes life was a little too complex for her taste. Simple was the way to go and simple meant putting a cork on the hormones being stirred up tonight by a very hot, but seemingly very straight surgical resident.

* * *

Thirty-five most uncomfortable minutes later the music in the bar subsided to a more bearable decibel as the live performers left the stage. Christina seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to be upset, but she was still giving Erica curious looks.

"How could you have a seven year old kid? It's impossible." Realization seemed to dawn on her. "It's totally impossible," she said as she slowly turned a serious gaze on Erica. "How is that even feasible?" she asked point blank. "I've known you for at least six years and you didn't have a kid then. Plus I don't think you've ever been pregnant."

"Wondered when you'd come around to that. Lucas is my sister's kid. She and my brother-in-law died six months ago."

Erica looked down wistfully, willing the pain that always accompanied thoughts of her sister to recede into the background with the thumping music. In a rare moment of compassion, Christina placed a hand on Erica's arm, but said nothing. Erica continued.

"Anna had already made me his legal guardian in case…anything happened to her and shortly after her death I adopted him. He has…" she paused "changed my entire life."

"I'll bet," piped in Callie. The other two women looked at her surprised. Callie ignored their shocked faces and simply shrugged. Erica took that as a sign to continue.

"Anyway, my mother and her new husband fought me. They tried to challenge the guardianship. Lucas was forced to stay with them for a short time." She looked at Callie.

"They did not approve of my lifestyle and so they didn't want their grandson raised by me. They had never even attempted to have a relationship with him before Anna died, since they had not approved of her Mexican husband. Anyway, the custody issue has been sorted out, but well it's one of the reasons I'm changing jobs. Presbyterian was not as accommodating as I wanted them to be about my schedule. Seattle has promised me decent hours on most days. So…" She looked up at Christina and Callie with all the self-confident determination that she could muster. "That's where I'll be." Her glance returned to Christina.

"So will you help?" she asked Christina hopefully.

"Well, I'm not sure I can. I mean it's awesome and all that you'll be at Seattle Grace, but I live in an apartment building, I don't know anything about the housing market or the schools in this area."

"I do," said Callie. "I could help if you wouldn't mind being dragged all around town. I did the same thing when I moved out here with my daughter 5 years ago."

"Are you sure?" asked Erica ignoring the pounding in her heart at the possibility of seeing Callie again. She had just managed to settle her stomach and drive out the bats that had settled there when she realized that she and Callie would be working at the same hospital and now they were coming back in full force.

"I would love to," said Callie excitement showing on her face as she flashed Erica an infectious grin. Erica smiled back unable to resist Callie's pull.

"Okay," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 3)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Feedback is both desired and appreciated.

Chapter 3 – Girls Go on Date

Callie was feeling excited. A few days ago she had sat in a crowded bar mentally willing Erica to say yes to her impromptu offer of help in finding a place to settle for her and her son, Lucas. And she was excited that Erica would be at Seattle Grace too. It would be great to have someone to hang out with who understood what it was like to be a single Mom, even if Lucas wasn't her biological child.

They had talked on the phone twice since then trying to find a mutually agreeable day for the outing and each time Callie had found herself wanting to extend the conversation and feeling even more excited about seeing her. She knew it was just the excitement of a potential new friend, someone who was like her in a very important way, but a part of her wondered at her reaction at Rumors when she had first met Erica. She couldn't really rationalize an explanation in her head, so she was pushing it to the side. Instead she focused on everything they had in common. They were both doctors, although Erica was in a better position to make demands as an attending than Callie who was still a resident. Their kids were around the same age and now they would even be working at the same hospital. For Callie, Erica just felt like her first opportunity at a genuine friendship in a long time.

She took one last look in the mirror satisfied that she was at least presentable and walked out of her bedroom.

"Come on Allie, we have to be at the bookstore in 15 minutes," she yelled to her daughter.

* * *

Erica drove carefully into the crowded parking lot, past the Wal-Mart and Best Buy, following the small path as it winded its way around to the back where additional stores and eateries were located. She found a spot that seemed less crowded and parked. She turned in her seat.

"How you doing, kiddo?"

The small brown headed boy looked at her with bright eyes. He had been peering out the windows excitedly for the last twenty minutes.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Apparently the center of town if the traffic is any indication," she responded unsnapping her seatbelt and getting out.

She opened the back door and began unbuckling him from the booster he sat in. She put him down and reached for his hand, but for once he did not take off at run. He stood, silently looking around. She locked the car and they proceeded to cross the parking lot.

They were a few minutes early, the drive having gone faster than she had anticipated.

"Is this where we're moving to?" he asked with a little fear in his eyes.

She looked at him. "No. We're just meeting a friend here. She's going to help us find a place to live. She has a little girl about your age, so she knows all the best places for kids."

"But this place is scary," he said clutching her hand.

"Well they don't live _here_."

"Okay," he said, but he sounded unsure.

They entered the giant bookstore and Erica immediately began searching for the coffee shop. She looked down at Lucas whose eyes had brightened at the well lit store with shelves and shelves of books.

"I'll let you wander around in a bit," she said. That must have made him happy. She felt a pull on her hand and had to smile. He was skipping now, a smile plastered on his face as they made their way to the back of the store.

Erica looked around for Callie, unsure if she would be here yet. Her eyes moved around the cafe and settled on a small area near large windows with comfy couches. There was Callie, dark hair in a pony tail speaking to a small girl who was the spitting image of her. The girl was sitting on the carpeted floor a book in her hand, talking animatedly to her mother. Erica pulled Lucas with her and approached.

"Hey, Callie!"

Callie's head turned to her, her eyes lighting up.

"Hey to you too. You made it."

"It didn't take too long."

Erica felt her stomach do two or three hundred flips in the space of a few seconds as Callie got up from her seat. She wanted to hug her. It seemed right somehow. It was a strange thought since she didn't usually do that with causal friends. Sam and Danielle were the exception because they were her good friends, but she and Callie really didn't know each other that well. A few phone conversations and a night spent talking and drinking at Rumors did not make you hugging buddies. And yet the feeling persisted.

"Al, come on up here honey," said Callie.

The little dark-haired miniature of Callie got up shyly, going automatically to her mother, the book she had been looking at it clutched in front of her.

"Erica, this is Allie. Al, say hi to Erica."

Allie was the most adorable little girl Erica had ever laid eyes on. She had Callie's chocolate brown eyes and facial features, but instead of saying anything, she buried her face in her mother's legs.

"Aw come on, Al," her mother begged placing a comforting arm around the child's back and rubbing.

"That's okay," said Erica pulling Lucas to stand in front of her. She held both his hands as he stared at the girl and her mother.

"Hi Allie, this is Lucas. He's sometimes shy too."

Allie turned around standing in front of Callie's legs, reaching up with one hand and clutching her mother's shirt.

"Whatcha got there?" Lucas asked pointing at the book Allie was holding. Allie glanced up at her mother, who nodded.

"Come on, Al. Use your words."

Allie put her head down and held up the book. It was a book about lizards. Lucas stepped forward to get a better look at the cover.

"Cool!" he shouted. "Look Aunt Erica, it's about lizards. Do you think there's a picture of a Komodo dragon?" he asked his aunt, tracing the cover of the book with one finger.

"Why don't you ask Allie?" said Erica.

He turned to Allie and stepped closer to her. "Are there cool pictures? I once saw a real Komodo dragon on TV. It was huge!" He indicated exactly how big, by stretching out his arms as far as they would go.

"Right, Aunt Erica? It was bigger than me."

Allie's eyes had gone wide, but she seemed intrigued as her eyes followed Lucas and his outstretched arms.

"Yeah, it was bigger than you, kiddo. Lucas, this is Allie and Allie's mom Callie. Say hi."

"Hi! What should I call you?" he asked Callie.

Callie looked at Erica briefly. "Well since you're Erica's special little guy and she gets to call me Callie, you can call me Callie too. Can I call you Lucas?" she asked.

He giggled. "Of course, that's my name. But you're a grown-up. I can't call you Callie. I'll just call you Aunt Callie."

"Um..." Callie looked at Erica.

"I hope you don't mind," said Erica. "He calls everyone he likes Aunt or Uncle or a relative of some type."

Callie smiled and watched as Lucas and Allie interacted. Lucas had coaxed Allie to the floor, both getting immersed in the pictures.

"Sit," said Callie. "Can I get you anything? You might want to get some sustenance before we start."

"What kind of day do you have in store for us?" asked Erica with a smile as they both sat.

"Well I want to drive you around to some of the areas that I found more promising when I was looking, visit the schools, see what's close by. I don't know how important location to public transportation or highways is to you, so I figured I'd show you everything."

She picked up the folder next to her and opened it pulling out page after page of print-outs and maps

"You have an itinerary for us?"

Callie blushed. "Yes?" she squeaked. "Sorry, obsessive compulsive organized person, you're dealing with. I make lists of everything."

"No, no I didn't mean to insult you. It's great. I just didn't expect you to put so much effort into it. Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Erica looked at her and smiled warmly, wanting to express how much she appreciated Callie's efforts.

"I'll owe you a number of dinners after this."

Callie blushed again. "No, that's not necessary, I'm just glad I could help."

Erica looked at her, letting herself linger on Callie's face, focusing on the exact shade of her eyes in the sunlight, the shape of her mouth, the way wisps of hair fell around her cheeks.

"Would you go to dinner with me?"

Callie blinked in confusion. Erica cleared her throat and tried again.

"Friendly dinner, I mean. That would help too. There is no easier way to ease into a new place than with a new friend."

Erica was pushing. She had acted on instinct with the whole dinner invitation thing. She was flirting with Callie and she should stop, but it had felt good and she liked to see that blush on Callie's face that seemed to be coming on frequently. But it was dangerous.

Callie said nothing in response. Erica took a breath getting ready to beg forgiveness, but Callie was quicker and completely disarmed her.

"Okay," she said flashing Erica another one of her full-out grins, the one that seemed to come from somewhere within Callie's core and took over her entire face.

Erica let herself be captured by it and smiled back.

* * *

By the time they had driven everywhere on Callie's list, everyone was exhausted. The kids had lost interest in seeing new places, even visiting schoolyards lost its appeal. They were asleep in the back of Callie's car.

"Thank you so much, Callie. I have an idea of where to start my search at least."

"No problem. I wish there was something available in my neighborhood, but I don't think I've seen any for sale signs go up."

"That would certainly make things easier."

They had met at the bookstore, but after some deliberation and a look at Callie's itinerary, they had decided that it would be best to leave Erica's car in Callie's driveway. They would end their little adventure near Callie's house and it was located closer to the expressway Erica needed to use for the trip home. Now they were approaching Callie's house.

Erica relaxed into the passenger seat, closing her eyes, trying to figure out what she had at home that she could prepare quickly for dinner. After the long drive back to Bentley Lucas would be cranky, she knew, but after some food, she hoped he would just settle down and sleep.

"Oh my God!" she heard Callie exclaim.

Erica opened her eyes immediately, her heartbeat picked up and her stomach dropped as adrenaline shot through her system. She looked around trying to spot the danger, her hands out in front of her ready to brace. Callie pulled over and pointed.

"For Sale," she said. "It must have gone up today because that sign was not there this morning when I left."

Erica was breathing hard. "What? You scared the heck out of me for a For Sale sign? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Erica, look where it is."

Erica looked, still trying to settle her breathing. The house was nice. It had an interesting colonial design and looked well-kept up. She looked around wanting to find some landmark that would reveal why its location was significant, but came up blank. She looked at Callie.

"What? Where are we?"

Callie pointed. "My house is right there," she pointed across the street, where now that it was made plainly obvious, Erica could see her own car in Callie's driveway.

She laughed. "Son of...well this must be some type of sign. I'm going to get a phone number. I'll meet you across the street?" she asked smiling.

"Okay," said Callie as she watched her get out.

* * *

An extra large pizza later the kids were in the living room, going through Allie's DVD collection, while Callie and Erica cleaned up the remnants of the hurried dinner.

"Thanks for letting us crash your dinner plans," said Erica trying to fold up the pizza box.

"We had no dinner plans. It was fun," answered Callie loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Seriously, I can't thank you enough. You spent most of your day driving me and Lucas around and then you let us join you and Allie for dinner. I had no idea what I was going to feed him."

Callie laughed. "It was just pizza Erica. It was fairly easy to make, you know you just pick up the phone and dial."

Erica gave up on the pizza box and just set it by the garbage.

"It was great pizza, had with great company," Erica said softly. "Really great company."

She was staring at Callie as she set the dishwasher. She knew her voice had changed, had gone just a little huskier, that she was reacting to Callie in a physical way. She also knew she had to put a clamp on that. She cleared her throat as Callie turned around leaning against the dishwasher, arms crossed in front of her.

"It was a lot of fun and with any luck they'll be more pizza nights," said Callie. She closed her eyes momentarily before continuing. "That was awfully presumptuous of me. Of course, only if you want there to be more pizza nights or other type of nights," her eyes on Erica as she spoke the last few words.

They were staring at each other smiling. Erica knew she needed to break the gaze, look away before Callie saw the effect she was having on her. But it was hard to do, incredibly hard. Finally Callie smiled and started the conversation again.

"So, do you guys want to stay for a movie?" Callie's eyes shifted to the doorway leading to the living room. "We were planning on watching _Toy Story_ tonight," she finished hopefully.

"I would think you want us out of your hair by now," Erica said as she laughed.

She didn't know if she should stay. It had been a long day and she was working a shift at Presbyterian tomorrow, but Lucas was having a good time and so was she.

"No, not at all," said Callie seriously then backed away from the serious tone, as a more reflective quality laced her next thoughts. "Actually I'm a little surprised. Allie usually tires of new people pretty quickly; so do I. I don't know, maybe it's because other people bore us?" She laughed. "I feel like we're holding both of you hostage because we're enjoying you so much. That doesn't really happen to us with other people."

Erica stepped closer, hands in her pockets. "I'm enjoying it too," she said, again with the soft voice. She closed her eyes, knowing without a doubt that she needed to leave. She liked this woman. She liked this woman a lot. She was nice and funny and smart and a great Mom. She was also incredibly attractive and sexy and was making Erica's heart thump really loud and really fast. She needed to go.

Lucas and Allie came running through the doorway.

"Mom, Mom. Aunt Erica they have _Toy Story_, look!" said Lucas handing Erica the DVD case.

He had been doing that a lot lately, calling her Mom and Aunt Erica. She hadn't talked to him about it, had just responded to whatever he was calling her, but she was worried that she was causing him some psychological damage by not clarifying things for him. She put her hand on his head and brought him closer to her leg as she took the case from him.

"It looks like they do. We have this at home too kiddo," she said gently, tilting his head and looking at him seriously.

"Yeah, but we haven't watched it with Allie and Aunt Cal. Allie doesn't know my favorite parts," he whined.

She looked at Callie who shrugged. "It's up to you guys," said Callie carefully. "We'll be watching it either way, so you are welcome to stay."

"Please, please, please, can we watch it here?"

He was jumping up and down tugging on her free hand.

"Okay, okay, but then we need to go and it's straight to bed for you. No arguments."

He snatched the box from her hands. "We'll go set it up," he said as he turned and handed the box to Allie who had been standing by the doorway.

"I'll put it in. It's easy. Mom lets me do it all the time," they heard her say as both kids bolted for the living room.

Erica ran her hands through her hair. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" she asked Callie.

"I am very okay with this. I would have been stuck watching the whole thing if you guys didn't stay. This way we can start watching it and sneak out when they're all into it."

Callie walked toward Erica and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's put in our time," she said as she led her to the living room.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. Chapter 4

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 4)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Feedback is both desired and appreciated.

Chapter 4 – Girls End Date

The kids were immersed in the movie in no time, although they spent most of their time talking about what was coming next and whether it was their favorite part. It was easier than either Erica or Callie had anticipated slipping out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" asked Callie. "I make a pretty decent cup, although a little on the strong side."

"That would be great," said Erica spreading her arms along the countertop of the large island and leaning forward.

Erica was nervous. She was having inappropriate reactions to Callie's innocent behavior and she needed to quell that. She tried not to think about their interactions this evening, because if she did she would convince herself that Callie had been flirting with her ever since she walked into Callie's house after her impromptu hunt for a phone number at the house across the street. It had been nothing but friendly banter and conversation all day as they were driving around various neighborhoods, but here in Callie's space, something had changed.

The casual touches had started from the moment Erica stepped into the house. Callie had met her at the door, a look of excitement on her face. She had placed a hand on Erica's stomach as if stopping Erica's forward motion. Erica had been in the process of removing her jacket. The touch had been electric. Erica had looked down at the hand touching her, slowing her movements as she stared, which seemed to distract Callie who removed her hand and started helping Erica take off her jacket. After that it had been getting pulled into the kitchen, Callie's hand around her wrist, Callie imploring her to sit, hands on her shoulders, a hand at her back as Callie inspected her chopping skills while she stood cutting carrots into bite sized strips for their pre-dinner snack. It was driving Erica nuts, especially since she wanted to reciprocate. It seemed natural to place her hand at Callie's waist as she reached around her to retrieve the small dishes for the carrots or bumping into Callie as they both stood putting the raw veggie appetizer together. Despite the touches, the woman was still straight and therefore not interested. Erica had to remember that.

Callie was bustling around the kitchen, but looking at Erica's distracted face.

"So, how long has he been calling you Mom?" she asked casually.

Erica's eyebrows went up.

"Noticed that, did you? I don't know. A couple of weeks maybe? I haven't really said anything to him about it." She frowned. "I don't know what I should do about it so I guess I've just done nothing."

"It's natural," said Callie. "You are his parent now, so it's natural. Does he talk about his mom and dad at all?"

The coffee started percolating as Callie asked the question. She stood with her back to the coffee maker, facing Erica who was nervously tracing illogical patterns on the marble countertop.

"A little. He'll pick up a book and tell me how his mom or dad would read it to him. He was quiet for a long time. He wouldn't talk about anything. He saw a therapist for awhile because God knows I didn't know how to deal with it. I could barely deal with my own grief, so I thought I better let a professional handle him. It was good for him, for both of us actually. We had a few sessions together where we talked about what happened. I found out things that made the adjustment easier. He was scared that he wouldn't be able to stay with me because he thought that people that didn't have kids didn't really want them and that I didn't really want him." She ran her hands through her hair.

"Anyway, we worked out a lot out. I still don't know what I'm doing. Like this Mom thing. I don't know if I should say anything to him about it."

"Do you respond to him when he calls you Mom?"

"Yes, but I don't know if that just confuses him. I don't want him to forget his mom or dad. I want to respect their memory, but I want him to be comfortable and if he feels comfortable calling me Mom, who am I to argue?"

Erica pushed away from the island. She looked at Callie

"Am I screwing up? Should I be clarifying it for him?" she asked.

"No, just do what you've been doing. Like I said, it's natural for him to call you that. He seems like a really smart kid. Right now, Mom is a role. It's a role you're playing now. He won't forget his mom and dad, especially if you still talk about them. But you're obviously his Mom now, so you should let him call you that. I think if you tried to challenge him on that, it would confuse him."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. I'm usually lost in the mom department."

"Give yourself more credit. You seem to be doing fine."

Callie turned to check on the coffee which was emitting a wonderfully strong, rich smell that Erica thought was laced with just a touch of sweetness. Since they were getting pretty personal and the question had been nagging at her, she decided to ask it.

"You can tell me it's none of my business, but is Allie's dad in the picture?" asked Erica, unsure if she was crossing a line.

Callie smiled. "That's okay. No, he's not. It's um...a long story if you're up for it. I hope you like milk because I do a killer Mexican cafe con leche."

Erica's eyes brightened. "I don't think I've ever had that, but it smells delicious."

Callie busied herself heating up milk as she started her story.

It was unusual for her to tell the story or to even want to tell the story. The only people that really knew were her family and a few friends from med school that she was no longer in contact with. Addison had been her closest friend at Seattle Grace until she moved to Los Angeles and even she didn't know everything. Callie didn't like talking about it. She hated going back to that time, always managing to feel the same fear and disappointment that had been a constant companion during her pregnancy whenever she told the story. But Erica was being open with her about Lucas and she just felt right sharing. It was like having a real friend again, one of those really good girlfriends that didn't judge you, that you could be vulnerable with and they would just know what you needed.

"I met him my first year in med school. He was very, very attractive and incredibly charming. I mean Adonis attractive and for some reason he was interested in me. As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not beauty queen material and I think I just fell for him because it was such a fantasy. I thought it was impossible for someone like him to be interested in me, but he was." She was stirring the milk slowly and paused in the telling to check the temperature.

"You're beautiful Callie," she heard Erica say in a tone that sent shivers down Callie's spine and warmed her body in interesting ways. She looked at Erica, not quite believing she actually meant it, but saw a serious and was that a slightly lusty look on Erica's face? It was there for a second and then it was gone.

"I should know right? Lesbian and all," said Erica trying to sound casual.

Callie laughed. "Okay, whatever."

She removed the milk from the stove, pulling small coffee cups down from the cabinet and began the process of mixing the hot milk and coffee.

"Anyway we embarked on a very intense involvement in our first year of med school. I was head over heels in love with him and completely expected that we would live happily ever after. What I didn't know and to this day I don't know how I didn't know, was that he had a drug problem. And when I say problem, I mean he was a dealer."

She purposely did not look at Erica's face for a reaction. She didn't want to see it. She never wanted to see people's reactions to this news. Instead she set a steaming cup of cafe con leche in front of Erica and switched gears.

"Try it and tell me what you think, but be careful because it's hot."

Erica was staring at her, but said nothing seeming to sense Callie's need for a distraction from the serious conversation they were having. She took the hot cup and started carefully blowing on it. Callie smiled at her and switched gears again.

"He was also occasionally a user and I am convinced that something he was using reacted with my birth control and I got pregnant. When I found out I was scared, but I was happy too, you know? I had this stupid idea that we would be a cool hip family of doctors. It didn't exactly work out. When he found out he went through the roof and just disappeared on me for awhile. He was still registered for classes, but he stopped showing up. I had no idea where he had disappeared to or where to even look for him. He eventually came back, but by that time it was becoming clear that things were not at all like they seemed. He was flunking out of med school and I had started to pay attention to the rumors about his extracurricular activities. How's the coffee?" she asked noticing that Erica had managed a few sips as she told her story.

Erica took a moment to answer as she finished sipping. "It's fantastic!" she exclaimed. "Seriously what is in this?"

Callie laughed. "A little cinnamon and a special ingredient to sweeten everything." She took a sip of her own coffee. "I'm going to just mix the whole batch of coffee with the milk I heated if you don't mind. I didn't want to do it before in case you didn't like it."

"Mind? I'm even more anxious to get that house across the street if it means I can come over and have coffee like this."

Callie smiled that full smile again and blushed slightly.

"I'm really glad you like it." Without thought to transitions, she picked up her story again. "I hadn't really made any decisions since he had disappeared. His reaction made me go into denial. I thought when he showed up that we could finally talk, but he didn't want to talk. He wanted me to get an abortion. I was stunned, not because I think abortion is wrong, but because I thought it was wrong in this instance. I thought we loved each other. I refused and he went through the roof again. He threatened me, told me he never loved me and all sorts of other very hurtful things. Hey do you want some more coffee?" she asked Erica.

"Not yet," said Erica in a very controlled voice. Callie looked at the cup Erica was holding and how tightly Erica's hands were wrapped around it. She reached over and touched Erica's fingers.

"Hey, you okay?"

Erica looked at her. "How could he do that to you? Jackass!"

"Yeah, he was a jackass and I was slowly coming to that realization, so I told him to leave, that I didn't want to see him again. It was a crazy time, trying to get through school, thinking about residency programs. The timing was good though. She was born at the beginning of my second year. My mother came out and helped me with her. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have gotten through my second year of med school. Allie was a year old when I started my internship at Seattle Grace. But David wasn't done with me. Before my residency program started, he got busted and he needed money for a lawyer. Somehow he found out...." She rubbed her face.

"I hate telling people this, but...my family is very wealthy. I mean, very wealthy. I have a trust fund and so does Allie. He started threatening to take the baby away if I didn't help him. He was going to jail so I didn't really pay attention until I got served with papers. His mother was suing me for custody, claiming that my career would not allow me to take care of the baby. It was more of a nuisance than a real threat, but my Dad ended up giving him money anyway, which was a mistake. He's tried to sue me for custody three times and my Dad has given him money all three times to get rid of him. The funny thing is that he's never asked to actually see Allie. He didn't graduate obviously and the last time I saw him things got ugly. He um threatened me with violence. I got attacked the next day. Someone stole my purse. I don't know if it was coincidence or him, which is a little uncomfortable, but he doesn't live in Seattle, so that's a bonus. It's been three years since I heard from him. I hope he's just given up."

Erica finished her coffee as Callie ended her story. Her face was taut, lips pursed. Callie could tell she was angry, really angry. She saw Erica close her eyes and shake her head getting up from her seat and engulfing Callie in a hug.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," she whispered into Callie's ear.

Callie hugged back. _How long had it been since she really hugged someone that wasn't six?_ She held on tight enjoying Erica's body this close to her. She let out a breath and tightened her hold when she felt Erica start to pull away.

"Thank you," she said. After a few minutes she let Erica go and stepped back giving her a shy smile. "Thank you for listening and not judging."

Erica was perplexed. "How could I judge you? He's the jerk Callie."

They were still holding hands, wanting to maintain contact. _How can you feel this close to someone after knowing them such a short time?_

They heard singing coming from the living room and both sets of eyes looked in that direction.

"I guess the movie's done," said Erica recognizing the Randy Newman tune.

"Yeah," said Callie not really wanting the moment to end.

Erica gave Callie's hands one last squeeze before letting go and walking to the doorway of the kitchen. She looked at the kids in the living room who appeared to be either marching or doing their version of a dance to the closing credits. She laughed.

"You have to see this," she said to Callie who walked over immediately. She leaned into Erica to get a better view and smiled.

"She never dances in front of anyone," said Callie.

"I'm not sure that qualifies as dancing…for either of them," answered Erica.

They stepped back into the kitchen letting the kids just enjoy the music.

"We should get going, but I'd like to see you...." she stopped, laughing. "Sorry that started to sound kind of like...well it's not how I meant it."

Callie smiled. "That's okay. Hey do you want to take some of this coffee with you? I have to-go cups. And that way," she said looking at Erica, "You'll have an excuse to see us again."

"Right," said Erica blushing slightly.

Callie proceeded to fill a to-go cup.

"Well I also owe you a dinner or two or ten..." said Erica watching her.

"I'll hold you to that," said Callie handing her the warm cup.

"Okay, it'll be a date," said Erica playfully as she walked out of the kitchen.

"A date," said Callie out loud watching her walk away. She rolled her eyes. What are you doing Torres? You are totally and completely flirting with her. You should put a clamp on that. It's misleading. Still it was an intriguing idea - a date with Erica Hahn.

They parted shortly after with Erica promising to call her the next day with any news about the house. With a lingering look at Erica's car as she backed out of Callie's driveway, Callie closed her front door. Tomorrow was Sunday, her day off. It was rare for her to have two days off in a row, but she had asked for this Saturday specifically. She frowned. Erica would not be calling her tomorrow about the house unless the real estate agent was desperate enough to have weekend hours. She sighed. She had been looking forward to Erica's call. She briefly considered a brunch invitation and was halfway to her phone when she stopped, remembering how good it had felt to hug Erica, how she had reacted to Erica at Rumors. She shook her head and immediately dismissed the brunch idea as overly clingy and co-dependent. She was an intense person, so her desire to see someone she so clearly liked was unsurprising, but other people were not as intense as she was, did not feel things as acutely as she did. She would be patient. For once, she would wait for Erica to call her.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. Chapter 5

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 5)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Feedback is both desired and appreciated.

Chapter 5 – Girl Meets Boy?

Callie was tired. She had just come off back to back surgeries, still had to chart and only a few minutes in which to do that before her shift ended. She sneaked a peak at tomorrow's surgery schedule to make sure no new surgeries had been added to her rotation for the next day. If nothing new had been added, she could get away with charting for a few minutes and still leave on time. She would finish the rest of the charts she had not gotten to today, tomorrow.

"So what did you think Lucas?"

Callie spun around. She knew that voice. She searched the corridor to her left and then glanced to her right at the waiting area where she saw Lucas and Erica making their way through worried people waiting for loved ones. Callie smiled. She felt her insides do that thing they did every time her and Erica talked, except with Erica here they were doing it to like the nth degree.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing here?"

Two heads swiveled in her direction. Erica smiled for a moment before her arm was almost taken off. Lucas had started running as soon as he recognized Callie, but had neglected to let go of the hand holding his. Erica was jerked, but went with the motion until Lucas, realizing that his mother was just slowing him down, let go of her hand.

"Aunt Cal, Aunt Cal, do you work here too? My Mom's gonna work here. Does Allie stay here when you're working? We were in the place they take care of kids, but I didn't like it. Does Allie like it?"

He had jumped into her arms which had surprised Callie a little. She held him now, trying to recall all of his questions as Erica walked up.

"Lucas, I'm not sure Callie appreciated being attacked like that." She reached for him, but Callie shook her head.

"Are you kidding? It's the best thing that's happened to me today. How are you?"

"Okay," he said nodding his head. "Is Allie here?"

"No, she's at home with my friend Nell."

His face fell. Erica grabbed him.

"Come on kid, you're kind of heavy."

She put him down and turned to Callie.

"Sorry about that. We were just checking out the child care situation. I'm trying to figure out what the best plan is."

Callie nodded as she grabbed Lucas's hand. "So you saw the daycare. What did you think Lucas?"

He shook his head. "I don't like it. There are a lot of babies in there."

"But you'll be close to your Mom."

"Can't I stay where Allie stays?" he asked his mother.

Erica looked uneasily at Callie before turning her attention to Lucas.

"Sweetie, if you don't like the daycare, we can find someone to stay at home with you. We'll figure it out, okay?"

He nodded burying his face in her legs. Erica stroked his head.

"He's having a hard time. Right now my friend Danielle takes care of him, but she's in Bentley and I can't convince her to move in with me, so I have to find an alternative."

Callie's stomach lurched. "Oh. Is Danielle your...um girlfriend?"

Erica laughed. "God no! She's a friend. We met in college. She and her partner live in Bentley. Why would you think....oh sorry I was just kidding about getting her to move in with me, although I did try to convince them to move to Seattle, but alas, Sam likes being a cop in Bentley."

Callie felt her stomach return to normal. "Sorry, I just assumed... wow, so sorry."

There was a pause.

"Listen, I don't want to get your hopes up or anything, but maybe I can talk to Nell and see if she'd be willing to take Lucas as well. She'll probably double her rate, but I trust her and then he'll only be across the street. I don't know if she'd go for it, but I could ask."

Lucas's head snapped to Callie. "I'd get to stay with Allie?"

"Lucas, don't get ahead of yourself. Callie said she would ask. Go wait for me over there. I'm sure there are some magazines with nice pictures by those seats."

He looked around wearily, but trotted over to one of the seats and started picking through all the magazines.

"Callie that sounds fantastic. But I seem to be getting into more and more debt with you."

"What do you mean?" Callie frowned.

"Let's see, I'm starting at your hospital, you got me my house and now a babysitter. I think I'll owe you dinner for a year if this works out."

"I had nothing to do with you getting hired here. Yes, I did find your house, but you don't have a babysitter yet. Although I think I like the idea of being in your debt. I get to have dinner with you anytime?"

"Anytime," said Erica looking at her in that way that made Callie feel tingly and nervous.

"Dr. Hahn?"

They both looked up and stepped away from each other as a tall heavy set man with a distinguished air about him walked up to them.

"Dr. Webber, I was just on my way up to see you," said Erica.

Erica extended her hand to her new boss.

"Good. I just need to go over some of the details of your schedule. Thanks for stopping by."

"No problem. I needed to see the daycare anyway."

"Well this should only take a few minutes."

Erica turned toward Lucas and called him.

"Hey Erica, if it's only a few minutes, I can watch him. I'll just be here charting," said Callie.

"Are you sure?"

Callie nodded, "Go, we'll be here when you get back."

"Okay thanks," she turned to Lucas. "Lucas stay with Callie, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Lucas nodded and watched her walk away. He turned his attention to Callie who had been watching him. She motioned for him to join her and he smiled tossing the magazines aside and running toward her. She picked him up and placed him on the counter.

"Can you just hang out for a few minutes while I fill this out?" she asked.

He nodded enthusiastically.

"How's Allie?"

"She's great. She asks about you all the time. She's really excited that you're moving across the street."

"Me too, Mom says we're gonna move soon and that Allie and I will be in the same school when it starts. Cool huh?"

"Very cool," she responded.

"I hope I get to stay with her instead of here."

"Me too Lucas, but even if you don't, this place is nice too. They have toys and books and other kids."

"It smells funny and there's too many people and there's a lot of babies down there."

"But it's an exciting place to be. Lots of things happen here."

"Yucky things."

Callie was perplexed by his attitude.

"But your Mom will be working here. She doesn't think it's yucky."

"She has to work here cause she saves lives."

"But you don't like it here?"

He shook his head vigorously.

He continued firing questions at her about Allie, the school, asking if he could come over to see her and Allie anytime he wanted. She answered his questions while she filled out her charts, pausing every once in a while to tickle him just to see him squirm.

"Torres, you give new meaning to the term cradle robbing."

Mark Sloan walked up to the both of them and settled himself next to Lucas, leaning on the counter.

"Hi," he said tersely to Lucas.

Lucas looked at Callie, sliding closer to her. "Hi," he said shyly looking at Mark suspiciously.

Callie stopped writing in her chart and placed a hand on Lucas's knee. "Don't worry Lucas, no one likes him."

Lucas moved even closer to her.

"I'm insulted. Everyone likes me, well all the women like me and I seem to recall a time when you liked me Torres. In fact, you really, really liked me not to long ago."

Mark was trying to be friendly or as friendly as he could be, but his big body was standing too close to them and he was a stranger to Lucas.

Callie gave him a hard look before turning back to Lucas who was stretching towards her, arms reaching for her neck. He slid off the counter wrapping his little legs around her waist as Mark continued spouting nonsense.

* * *

Erica's stomach was doing happy little flips as she made her way back from Dr. Webber's office. She had been so happy to see Callie, had been contemplating how to see her again since the day Callie had driven her and Lucas around researching Seattle neighborhoods. She hadn't wanted to be pushy, so she had said nothing about them getting together during their phone conversations. She still had that damn to-go cup at her house, one of the few things that had not yet been packed in a box. She had started using it for her own coffee. It was a constant reminder of Callie, which just made her feel cheery, even if there were issues with that. Thinking of Callie had meant thinking about how sweet and kind and cool Callie was. But she also thought about how beautiful and sexy she was, how she made Erica think of things like slow, long, wet three day kisses. It made her think of lengthy black hair and wonder how it would feel tangled in her hands. Her mind had been wandering there more and more, but especially after their phone conversations, which had also increased in frequency and length.

Erica had not seen her since the day they had spent together, had been a little scared of seeing Callie again. She liked Callie as a friend and well as more than a friend, which wasn't really a possibility. As a result she got nervous every time she thought about seeing her; afraid she would say or do something wildly inappropriate and ruin their developing friendship. She thought she had done well this afternoon. It had been unexpected and short, but much to her delight, she hadn't been a total idiot.

She hadn't planned on visiting Seattle Grace today, but the Chief had asked to speak to her. He wanted to go over her schedule which was important to her. She had come here because they had promised a decent schedule that would allow her to be home most week nights and weekends. When the real estate agent had called wanting to do a final walk-through of the house before the closing, she had taken it as a sign and scheduled a trip into Seattle. She had planned on calling Callie, but the child care business had blown up and become an issue and she didn't know if she would have time to see Callie. Danielle had recommended a woman who had bailed on Erica at the last minute, saying she was too busy to take on additional nanny duties, so Erica found herself back at the beginning in terms of finding a workable solution to the childcare problem.

It had been a bonus really to run into Callie, more than a bonus since Callie had come to her rescue again with a possible solution for her dilemma over childcare. God it would be perfect if Callie's sitter took Lucas as well as Allie. All in all she was pretty satisfied that all the problems that had plagued her this morning were resolving themselves without too much effort from her. Her schedule was set and there was a possibility that the childcare issue could resolve itself. She still had to do the walk-through, but that whole process had gone smoother than she had anticipated and she had no doubt the walk-through would be just a formality. It had helped that she had been pre-approved for a loan and that she could offer the buyer her asking price. There had been no haggling. Erica wanted that house. The house belonged to an elderly widowed woman who was looking forward to moving in with her son in Florida. She had raised her three children in that house, but the place was too big and was getting harder for her to manage. She was anxious to sell and move away from rainy Seattle to the warm comfortable weather that Florida offered.

The whole thing had moved so fast. Her offer was made a week after she had contacted the real estate agent and accepted shortly after that. The next few days had been paperwork and inspections. Now she was less than two weeks from moving. She had lined up movers, was set to start a very nice job in two weeks, her son's daycare situation might be take care of and best of all she had gotten to see Callie.

She saw them at the counter where she had left them. A man was standing with them now and she wondered if he was also a surgeon. She had met some of her colleagues when she interviewed, had known Shepherd by name and reputation, but she didn't recognize the man standing next to Callie. She saw Lucas scooting away from him and quickened her pace. She was within earshot in a few paces and heard the man saying something just as Lucas lunged for Callie's neck with outstretched arms.

"Torres likes me," he was saying to Lucas. "She even calls out my name when we're..."

"Stop scaring my kid," she said in a very harsh voice. She hadn't wanted him to finish his sentence. Lucas wouldn't understand what he was trying to say, but she did and it made her stomach recoil and then knot itself up.

"Mom" he shouted and reached for her. Erica took him from Callie who looked a little shocked and confused at Erica's tone.

Callie was looking from Mark to Erica unsure of what to say. She wanted to tell Erica that Mark hadn't really meant anything by it and she wanted to tell Mark to just go away because she knew Mark and he was going to start.

"Well, what do we have here? A beautiful woman and her beautiful child. Please tell me Dad is not in the picture."

"Don't," said Erica her voice was like as cold as frigid icy wind. "I don't know who you are and I don't care." She turned to Callie. "Thanks for watching him."

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

"You're an ass," said Callie to Mark punching him in the shoulder before she picked up her chart and ran after Erica.

"What? I didn't do anything," he shouted after her.

She turned to glare at him and ran right into Dr. Samson who looked pissed. "Dr. Torres, you should know better than to run in a hospital." He was practically sneering at her.

"What?" she asked confused. He had just uttered the stupidest thing in the world. People were constantly running in hospitals. It was a place where lots of emergencies occurred and emergencies often required speed.

"This is not a playground," he continued sounding like an old British guy.

Even though he was an attending and the head of her department, she frowned at him. "Whatever," she said as she rushed past him, tossing the chart in her hand into the pile before heading for the elevators.

* * *

Erica walked to the elevators, put Lucas down and kneeled next to him.

"You okay, kiddo?"

He nodded, but said, "Can we go? I don't like this place."

"I know. I don't like it too much right now either. We're going." She got up angry with herself.

She was due to start work in two weeks and had just been rude to someone who was probably a colleague. She didn't know who he was. She let out a breath wondering what was taking the elevator so long. She knew he hadn't really done anything to scare Lucas. Lucas hated hospitals, had since his parents had died and he had been left in the waiting room for hours by himself by her idiot of a mother. No, she was pissed at the familiarity the man seemed to have with Callie and at his comment. She's straight. It makes sense that she would have a boyfriend or whatever that guy was. Of course, she hadn't mentioned a boyfriend before. The ding of the elevators broke through her thoughts. She let passengers out and led Lucas inside pushing the button for the main floor. The doors started to close when she saw Callie running towards them. Instinctually she reached out her hand and held the elevator for her.

"Thanks. I was trying to catch you guys. Are you leaving?"

"Yes," said Erica trying to tone down the attitude. It wasn't Callie's fault that she was crushing on her and pissed that she had someone.

"Hey, are you alright? I'm sorry about Mark. He's a bit if a pig. He is our local man-whore," she whispered to Erica.

Erica looked confused. "What?"

"He will do anything that moves, has actually. He's just bored because his surgeries have been put on hold. None of the nurses will assist. They're on some sort of work stoppage because I think he's slept with all of them."

Erica frowned. "What does he do?"

"Plastics."

The elevator hit the main floor and all three of them walked out. "What are you guys up to for the rest of the day? I get off in a few minutes; maybe we can have one of those dinners you keep promising me," asked Callie hopefully.

"What about your… boyfriend?" asked Erica. She was still completely at a loss. Callie didn't seem to be the type of person who would date someone with a reputation like the one she had just described and yet...he had definitely suggested that he and Callie had ...been together.

Callie was laughing. "Did you say boyfriend? No, he is not my boyfriend. No way, no how. No boyfriend. No thank you."

"But he said... Sorry I just assumed from his comment," said Erica feeling a little foolish.

"Don't worry about it, but he's not my boyfriend. We are not together. He's just a..." She scratched her head seeming very uncomfortable.

"Just a what?" asked Erica.

"He's a friend," she said simply, looking away as if considering something.

"Look, my shift's over, how about I make you dinner? You and Lucas can come over and I can whip up a..."

"No, I don't think so. I owe you way too much already," said Erica hurriedly.

Callie looked away disappointed.

Erica was also looking away trying to figure out how to respond. She had promised dinner, but the whole incident with what's his name was throwing Erica off. _Oh hell, you know you want to. _She took a deep breath and plunged.

"I have to do a final walk through of the house. I'm on my way there now. Why don't we come over after and I'll take everyone out, wherever you want."

"YES!" she heard Lucas shout. "Can we have pizza? Can we go to the place with all the games? We should go get Allie right now," he said pulling on Erica's hand.

Erica smiled at him, pulling him towards her as he tugged. "Slow down Lucas. We still have to go see the house."

Callie was beaming. "Okay, I'm going to go sign out and change. I'll see you after the walk-through. Don't stand us up, or you won't get the full explanation about Mark. It's a sad story, but then mine mostly are," she said over her shoulder.

Erica watched her go still resisting Lucas's pull on her arm, wondering about Callie's comment. There was no way she could even contemplate standing Callie up. Finally she saw Callie get on another elevator. She turned to Lucas, "Ready to see the house?"

He nodded, "Come on Mom," and this time she let him tug her towards the door. Callie had promised an explanation. She was uncomfortable thinking about it, but ultimately whatever the story, if it involved Callie she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything about her.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. Chapter 6

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 6)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Some more bonding time for the girls. It's kind of a slow build up, but these things sometimes are.

Chapter 6 – Girls Go on Second Date

"This is so great, Erica. It's way bigger than my place."

They were standing in the middle of the living room of what would soon be Erica's new house. The place was empty. The widow had not been kidding about wanting to move. The closing was still a few days away, but she had already packed her stuff and sent it to Florida. She was staying with a friend until the closing.

"It's got one more bedroom than your place, but other than that, they're probably the same," said Erica watching Callie take in the place in all its emptiness.

Callie walked around checking out windows and touching the staircase that led to the second floor where Allie and Lucas had run to upon entering the place. It was nice and spacious. The front area was one giant room that was large enough to hold a living room and dining room. The only thing that distinguished the probable dining area from the living room, were the colors on the walls, which were splashed with different but coordinating shades of brown on the two halves of the room. The colors exuded warmth despite the emptiness. The back room held the kitchen. The right side of the room held the staircase and doors that led to other smaller rooms, one of which Callie guessed was a bathroom.

"Are you going to do anything to it?" she asked.

"I can't think of anything it really needs right now. It's got a fresh coat of paint and I can't see anything else that needs doing right away. Plus we need to just settle in."

Erica looked at Callie. "Thank you Callie. This wouldn't have been possible without you. Somehow I feel that pizza dinners aren't adequate compensation."

Erica saw Callie's face go slightly dark as she blushed and smiled.

"Well pizza is all we could do now anyway. I've just come off a 16 hour shift and you didn't give me an opportunity to shower before dragging me to your new house, so I'm pretty much a mess."

"It won't be my house until the closing. I have to return the keys tomorrow. The real estate agent let me hang on to them so I could show you and Allie." She leveled a look at Callie. "And you're beautiful even after a 16 hour shift."

Callie laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure my hotness factor is right up there with Gilligan."

Erica shook her head. "Trust me, you're way up above Ginger in the hot and sexy department," she said and she meant every word. Despite the fact that Callie was straight, she couldn't help the things Callie made her feel. Callie's presence, her voice, anything even remotely Callie related just did things to her. Callie was doing them now. Erica closed her eyes hoping Callie would just take the comment in stride and not notice how Erica's tone had changed.

"Is that your expert opinion?" asked Callie with a tone of her own that surprised Erica.

"Very much so," she said trying to quell the tremors she felt. She cleared her throat lest she get stupider. "Objective, expert opinion, of course," she hastened to add.

Callie laughed again. "Okay, I understand why I'm delirious having just come off a pretty intense shift, but what's your excuse?" she teased reaching for Erica's arm.

"I am completely clear, fresh and in my right mind," said Erica. At least for now, but if Callie kept flirting with her or touching her, she might lose her perspective. She changed the subject. "Are you sure you want to do this dinner thing Callie? If you're too tired, I'll understand."

"Don't try to back out now, Hahn. We've promised those little rugrats upstairs pizza at Chucky Cheese. There is no going back on that."

Callie removed her hand from Erica's arm and Erica immediately missed it. She sighed wishing she knew what was going on with Callie. If she didn't know better she would think Callie was interested in her. But she knew Callie was straight and that necessarily meant not interested. She needed to let it go. It had been awhile since she had become this confused between friendship and romantic interest. Of course, she usually wanted neither from anyone, so the issue had rarely come up for her. Maybe that was why she was confused by the whole thing. She had no experience with this and so didn't know how to react. Resolving to just act like a normal person for once – whatever that was – she continued to the kitchen motioning for Callie to follow her as she proceeded with the tour.

* * *

An hour later they were sitting side by side at a small table, glancing up every now and again at Lucas and Allie as they jumped from game to game. Lucas's head was going to explode, Callie was sure of it. His eyes were open wide and his head was swiveling back and forth, slowing down and focusing just barely only when he was playing a game with Allie. The place was a madhouse. Kids were running back and forth laughing and talking, flashing lights, digital noises, all of it almost indescribable in the cacophony that was created. Callie looked sideways watching Erica watch Lucas and Allie. She seemed distracted. They had placed their food order a few minutes ago and then doled out tokens to Lucas and Allie, instructing them to stay close and not wander too far.

Callie was glad the kids were occupied. She had wanted a chance to talk to Erica, to try and explain Mark's comment. This wasn't the ideal place to get into that conversation, but her choices were limited. She wasn't sure when she would see Erica again and this just seemed important somehow. She wanted to set things straight. She didn't want Erica thinking that...her and Mark... But she was having a hard time figuring out how to start the conversation. She had resolved to just start, when Erica spoke.

"So, when I'm I going to hear this sad story?"

There was a playfulness in her voice, but the way her eyes darted away from Callie as she spoke made Callie think this was significant. There was a serious undertone to this conversation. Callie smiled anyway, if nothing else at the way Erica seemed to have anticipated her thoughts and actions, asking about it just as Callie had resolved to tell it.

"Why is it that I'm always telling you about my love life over pizza?"

"I don't think twice qualifies as always and last time, I think it was over coffee after pizza."

Callie laughed and looked away. She liked Erica, really liked her. Part of her wanted to talk about it, tell someone her fears and insecurities when it came to her heart, but another part of her was afraid. She felt warm fingers settle over her hand and looked down.

"Callie"

Callie's eyes rose slowly to meet Erica's.

"You don't have to tell me anything," Erica said.

"No, I want to…it's just a little embarrassing and a little depressing and plus, I don't come off very well in this story."

"I doubt that," Erica interrupted.

Callie chuckled. "You haven't heard the story yet."

"I know," said Erica with confidence.

"I um… I don't know where to start exactly."

"At the beginning?" suggested Erica.

Callie let her gaze wander to Lucas and Allie momentarily.

"Okay," said Callie clearing her throat. "I've had one serious, well serious for me anyway, relationship since David. His name was George. His name is still George. George O'Malley. He's a resident at the hospital. Actually he's still an intern since he failed his intern exam last year. It was short and intense and a complete and utter mistake."

Erica's eyes were on her waiting patiently.

Callie let out a breath. She wanted a distraction, something she could turn to when the things she was about to spill got to be too much; finding nothing but Erica's patient eyes, she continued.

"He was the opposite of David in every way and I liked him. He's short and kind of dopey looking, but in a really sweet way." She paused deciding to go back further in her storytelling.

"I spent the first four years of my residency just trying to get through them with my sanity intact. Between Allie and work I was stretched to the max and had no time to even think about a personal life. When I met George, I guess I realized how lonely I was feeling. He was sweet and he was nice to me and I fell so hard for him. But he didn't feel the same so nothing came of it at first. Then his father died."

"Wait a minute, O'Malley?" I operated on his father!"

"Yeah, that George." Callie gave Erica an inquisitive look and then smiled. "How did I not meet you then? You came here to do that procedure, right? I remember vaguely hearing your name, but…obviously I didn't know you then."

Erica smiled back. "I was here for the surgery, but left his recovery to Burke. That's how Burke wanted it, so I didn't hang around."

Callie tried not to think of how her life might look right now if she had met Erica sooner. She paused in her story letting her gaze wander to the kids and their air hockey tournament, before settling back on Erica's face. She tried to read it, but couldn't really decide what she saw, so she continued.

"It started being not like David and ending up being almost exactly like David. George was very sweet and very nice and I let myself get so caught up in him and the idea of us as a family that I couldn't see beyond that. But it all moved too fast for him and ultimately, he… um… He told me that he wasn't interested in a ready made family."

Erica was frowning. "What?" she asked harshly. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't really know." Callie paused, thinking. "I never got angry with him though, like I did with David. I was just hurt, because he seemed so nice and he seemed to like me. It took us forever to break-up. I just kept hanging on thinking he would come around and love me like I loved him. It was my fault really."

"I doubt that. He sounds like an idiot."

Callie smiled. Erica's deep frown seemed etched on her face and in some weird way it comforted Callie to have someone on her side. She hadn't really had that when it was all going on. Addison had been a great friend, but had been too caught up in her own love life to lend Callie the support she had craved. Besides, Callie had chosen not to share a lot with Addison about the whole George thing, especially after it had become clear that it…probably wasn't going to work out.

"Anyway, his heart it turned out was elsewhere. We did the whole on and off thing for awhile until I found out he had slept with someone else during one of our off periods and that he continued to sleep with her when we got back together. It sounds insane I know. He had some explanation for it, said it was a mistake. I didn't know which part was the mistake, sleeping with her or staying with me, but I couldn't keep putting myself through the emotional turbulence anymore. It hurt. A lot. And I was feeling pretty down on myself. And then I met Mark."

Erica stiffened a little and Callie felt it through their still joined hands.

Callie was uncomfortable talking about Mark to Erica, but he was her friend, her good friend. She had slept with him after her relationship with George had gone up in flames and she had been feeling unloved, unwanted, not good enough, and very much like damaged goods. It had not been about him or wanting something from him that she knew he couldn't give. She hadn't wanted anything more from him than one night when he made her feel sexy and wanted and very much not yesterday's trash. They had developed a friendship of sorts, even though he could get on her every nerve. She considered him a friend. He wasn't someone she could count on if she needed a sitter, but he sometimes made her face her demons, had broad shoulders she could cry on and made her laugh. But she didn't want Erica getting the wrong idea about them.

"I wasn't feeling very good about myself when I met him and it surprised me that he was hitting on me."

"Why does that surprise you so much Callie? You're an incredibly beautiful woman," said Erica.

She gazed at Callie with an unguarded look, a look that did not hide the attraction she obviously felt. She looked down at their hands still joined loosely as neither woman had bothered to break the connection they had made earlier and took a breath as if she wanted to say more. Then she seemed to think better of it, her eyes remaining on their joined hands.

Callie felt something stir in her that was unfamiliar. It was a combination of excitement and anticipation and an overall giddiness that was perplexing.

"Thanks," she managed to say in response to Erica's compliment.

Erica looked up at her finally. She gave Callie's hand a squeeze before pulling back. Callie had been concentrating on Erica's face but instinctually reached for Erica's hands before she could completely withdraw them. She held on, her gaze now intently on their hands.

"No thanks are necessary. It's just true," said Erica so softly Callie had to strain to hear her.

She considered Erica's statement for awhile. "I certainly could have used someone like you back then," she said finally raising her head and meeting Erica's eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there," said Erica sincerely.

"Me too," responded Callie with a smile. "But we hadn't met yet and so when I met him and he was flirting with me, I found myself feeling a little better. Wanted. Desirable. And so one thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together. It was only the one time, but it was…something I needed. I had been feeling so sorry for myself for most of the day and he came along and just made me feel wanted. I hadn't realized how much I had been craving that until he was there." She shook her head and looked at Erica who had a somewhat pained look on her face.

"Anyway, we became friends after that. He's a good friend despite some of his more piggish tendencies. He prevents me from getting too down on myself and he seems to understand me in ways I don't even get sometimes," she said looking down again at their joined hands.

She was afraid to look up, afraid that Erica would be looking at her with disgust or worse with that slightly pained look she had seen earlier.

"He's a friend," she continued since Erica remained quiet. "That's all."

"Okay," Erica finally spoke. "It sounds like he was there for you when you needed him. That's always the mark of a good friend. I'm sorry you had to go through that Callie. I can't imagine why anyone would not…" she stopped. She squeezed Callie's hand again and started pulling away.

This time Callie let her. She didn't want to. The touch seemed to ground her, but it would be hard to explain to Erica her desire to remain in physical contact. She hardly understood it herself, had no logical explanation for it really.

The pizza order arrived as the two women were contemplating whether to continue the conversation and if so exactly how. They looked at the pizzas and just started laughing.

"Okay heavy conversation over," said Callie. But she couldn't help it. She reached for Erica again as Erica started reaching for plates and silverware. She held one of Erica's hands in hers, noting the warmth and softness.

"Erica, there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Mark. I know this is silly, but I just really need you to understand that."

Erica smiled at her. "Okay," she said.

She turned away intent on finishing the setting up, but seemed to hesitate. She turned to Callie and looked at her taking both of Callie's hands in hers and holding them in front of her.

"It wouldn't matter. I'd still be your friend, no matter who you were involved with Callie. My friendship is not conditional. And if you ever need reminding that you are beautiful and desirable, just let me know, okay?" she said in a light playful tone. "You have a tried, tested, and card carrying member of the lesbian nation in front of you. And you are very definitely beautiful and desirable."

She released Callie's hands and then continued setting up.

Callie's heart was beating a mile a minute. The touch, the words, the tone, all of it was sending sparks throughout her entire body. The words seemed to be floating in her bloodstream warming up all the dark cold places and settling in her heart producing a giddiness that threatened to burst. She almost grabbed for her chest for fear that it would explode; the feeling was so intense. She watched Erica turn and continue setting up the pizza, completely oblivious to the effect she'd had on Callie.

Suddenly her thoughts turned over and she knew what was going on with her. She was attracted to Erica, seriously liked her in a very romantic way. But she had no time to contemplate these new feelings or their implications as Lucas and Allie ran over for pizza. She could only stare as Lucas and Allie settled in at the table talking over each other to both her and Erica. Erica was busy pouring water into their glasses and making sure they had napkins. Callie shook her head and started serving pizza slices. She would need to watch her interactions with Erica, get a sense of what exactly she was feeling before she started freaking out about it all.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Chapter 7

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 7)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** The slow pace continues. I promise it does pick up.

Chapter 7 – Late Coffee and Early Breakfast

Erica was staring at the ridiculous to-go cup she had just unpacked as it sat on the counter. She had been hanging on to it, intent on giving it back at some point. She hadn't yet. She had moved into her new house, began the process of unpacking and was starting at Seattle Grace tomorrow. She had seen Callie a few times since their pizza night and had never even contemplated giving that cup back. It was her back up. When she ran out of excuses to see Callie, she would always have Callie's to-go cup to return. But the way things were going it appeared she would never run out of excuses to see Callie. Nell had agreed to take on Lucas as well, so her childcare situation was now kind of caught up with Callie's. They lived across the street from each other. Their kids went to the same school and had become fast friends. Should she give it back? She started unpacking the rest of the kitchen stuff in the box, content to just leave the cup where it was for now.

It was the last time Erica thought about returning that cup. Eventually the cup found itself into her cupboard with her other cups. It was the first thing of Callie's that made its way to Erica's house.

* * *

In the weeks that followed other things soon made their way across the street as well. It started with innocent dinners. She would stop at Callie's to pick up Lucas and he would beg her to invite Allie over to share their dinner when Callie wasn't home. Callie worked later shifts than Erica, so she was often still at the hospital when Erica picked up Lucas. She had been unsure at first and so had Nell, who had resisted the invitation saying she needed to check with Callie. Callie laughed when Erica asked her at work the next day as Erica was ending her shift. Callie was still in the middle of hers. Of course it would be okay for Allie to go over there for dinner she had stated laughing.

So Allie had started coming over to their house for dinner and Nell, seeing no reason to stay later, started leaving after Erica picked up Lucas and Allie, unless Callie was doing an overnight shift or working until midnight. Allie brought toys and books and extra clothes that somehow just never left Erica's house.

Erica was thinking about all of this as she unpacked the last of the boxes. Lucas and Allie were playing in the living room. She glanced at the time. Nell should have come by to pick up Allie fifteen minutes ago. Callie was working until midnight tonight, so Nell was staying late. She thought about calling Nell and just as she wandered to her cell phone it rang. She saw Callie's name flash on the tiny screen of her phone and smiled.

"Hey Cal," she said.

"Hey Erica. Listen I have a mega huge favor to ask you."

"Sure anything. You okay?"

"No, I mean yes, I'm fine, just… I just spoke to Nell. She's can't stay tonight and I have to work until midnight."

"I was just about to call her. She should have been here fifteen minutes ago. What's going on with her?"

"I honestly don't know. New boyfriend maybe? The last time she was pushing back on the overnights and staying late, she had a new boyfriend. God this is such a mess. I hate to impose on you, but since Allie's already there…"

"Callie don't worry about it. She has some extra clothes here anyway. I'll just put her to bed and you can come over in the morning. I know you get off at midnight, but it's probably best if she stays the night. Unless you don't want her to," she qualified unsure if Callie would actually be okay leaving her child all night.

"Is it okay if I…never mind, that's just rude"

"Callie, if you want to come see her when you get home that's fine. I'll be up."

She heard Callie sigh. "Are you sure? I just…it's not that I don't trust you, it's just I like to see her before I go to bed."

"Callie I completely understand. Just don't ring the bell. I'll look out for you or just knock."

"Thank you so much Erica. I have no idea how I'll repay you."

Erica laughed. "I knew there would come a day when I'd start payments on the debt I owe you."

"Seriously, I really appreciate it."

"Callie it's no problem. Here I'll put her on the line and you can explain it to her."

She called for Allie and put her on the phone. She hoped Allie would be okay spending the night. At least this place wasn't strange to her, but staying the night somewhere that was not home without your mother had to be scary.

"Really?" she heard Allie say over the phone. "Okay…yes Mom…Okay…I gotta go tell Lucas. Love you too," she said hurriedly as she handed the phone back to Erica.

Erica took the phone and watched her run towards Lucas.

"Guess she's okay?" she asked amused.

"Yeah. I think she's pretty excited. Thank you so much Erica."

"Callie it's no problem, really."

"Okay I have to go, but I'll call you before I leave the hospital."

"Okay, be safe," she said almost as an afterthought.

They made popcorn, watched cartoons and then took baths. Bath time was interesting to navigate, but both kids were too interested in getting to play so late together that they were anxious to get baths over with, so it was relatively painless for her. She put Allie in a t-shirt and one of Lucas's spider man pants and let them play for a half an hour before story time and then bed. They were too excited to go to bed right away though and she had to make several trips upstairs to remind them they had school the next day and should be trying to sleep.

She thought about changing for bed as well or at the very least trying to get a nap in before Callie came to check on Allie, but found nervous energy preventing her from doing either. Instead she logged onto the hospital network and worked on the administrative tasks that came with heading up a department, trying not to look too often at the little corner of her screen where the time was displayed.

Callie called a little after 12 to let her know she was on her way. After fending off more thank you's, she put the phone down and logged off. She went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee in case Callie wanted to sit awhile.

* * *

She heard a car pull into her driveway and walked to the door. Looking through the front window she saw Callie getting out, a tired look on her face. She looked surprised at where she was. She shook her head and walked towards the front door. Erica had the door open by the time she got there. Callie looked exhausted and a little nervous.

"Hey," said Callie brightly. "I just realized I could have parked across the street and just walked over."

"Hey yourself and don't worry about it," said Erica as she closed the door behind her.

"You look exhausted."

"Had one more surgery than I had planned," she said as she started to remove her jacket.

"Hey you've made a big dent in the unpacking," she said holding her jacket awkwardly.

Erica took it from her and laid it on the couch.

"Relax," she said. "I have a pot of coffee if you're interested or left-over Chinese if you haven't eaten yet."

"Thanks, I ate earlier, but coffee sounds great. It's pretty late for you though, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I'm used to not sleeping despite my somewhat regular hours now. Surgeon too, remember?"

"I hate to keep you up though. I feel like I'm just waltzing in here and making myself at home."

"Callie it's fine. Why don't you go check up on Allie and I'll pour the coffee," she suggested.

Callie gave her what could only be described as a grateful smile and went upstairs.

* * *

Here we go again, thought Erica. She should go to sleep. She should let Callie go to sleep, but since she had started working at Seattle Grace she had not seen as much of Callie in private as she would have liked. They talked at work and had lunched together once when Callie was on a regular shift. They found time for coffee often and just talked if they had the chance, but Callie had a brutal schedule, so she worked most evenings, or disappeared into the night for the dreaded night shift.

Erica sighed. Control Hahn, just control whatever's going on with you. She thought of all the 'should not's'. She should not be thinking about this woman all the time. She should not be plotting ways to see her more. She definitely should not desire this particular woman as much as she did. Callie was straight. That should mean something. It did mean something. It meant no chance, absolutely no chance no matter how many flips Erica's heart did when she saw her.

And yet she couldn't seem to stop herself from wanting to spend as much time as she could with her. Maybe it was the fact that she was straight. Maybe it felt safe to desire someone who was ultimately unavailable to her. She wanted that to be true. The alternative, that she was developing feelings for Callie, was too scary a prospect. She heard Callie coming down the stairs and leaned on the counter trying really hard to display a cool and casual demeanor. _No nervousness here. _

"Hey!" said Callie cheerily smiling that smile that just made Erica's insides turn into shapeless formless goo.

Erica sighed internally. She was in so much trouble. She cleared her throat and handed Callie her cup.

"Cream and sugar are there," she pointed. "I can't do coffee like you can, but it's not too bad."

"I'm sure this is great," said Callie as she took the cup.

Their hands touched lightly and held, eyes meeting. Erica wanted to close her eyes, needed to really if she hoped to block out her thoughts, but Callie's eyes were holding her gaze. Callie smiled and gripped the cup firmly, pressing on Erica's fingers. Erica let go and pulled away, stuffing both hands in the pockets of her jeans.

"So everything okay upstairs?"

"Yeah, thank you so much for taking her and for letting me come over. I know it's stupid."

Erica frowned. "Why would it be stupid? If it was Lucas, I'd want to do the same thing. So how was the day?" asked Erica leaning on the counter slightly and sipping from her coffee.

* * *

It was two thirty in the morning before either of them realized that they had been talking for two hours. Callie noticed first as she went for more coffee. The 2:30 in digital letters on the microwave startled her.

"Oh my God!" she shouted a little too dramatically.

Erica had turned immediately. "What?" she asked as she closed the few feet between them. Thinking something was wrong she placed a hand on Callie's shoulder and turned her. Callie placed her hands on Erica's stomach.

"It's so late, Erica. You have to be up in a few hours. I'm so sorry. I don't have to be in until seven tomorrow night."

"Jesus Callie you scared me!" said Erica as she let go of Callie's shoulder hoping she had not unconsciously pressed forward into Callie's touch, but not really remembering if she had.

And because she had been genuinely scared and needed Callie's hands off of her stomach, she hugged her. It was quick. She let go almost immediately and stepped back. "Don't do that," she said trying not to think about how the hugging felt just as good as Callie touching her. Callie was smiling at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. But God, it's so late."

"And you were exhausted when you walked in," said Erica switching gears. "You should go across the street and get some rest. I'll get the kids up and you can come over for breakfast in a few hours."

"Yeah," said Callie looking a little sad.

"What's wrong?" asked Erica.

"It's just all of you are here and I'll be over there in that big empty house."

Erica laughed. "Okay, then stay here. I have a pull-out couch and blankets or you can take my bed."

"God, I'm being an idiot aren't I?"

Erica placed both hands on Callie's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Stop it. You are not being silly, an idiot or any of the other bad things you're thinking of. You're tired and your child is here and you want to be near her. Perfectly normal."

Callie hooked her hands on the arms reaching out to her and smiled. "Thank you." She tilted her head. "I'm really glad we became friends," she said.

Erica removed her hands from Callie's shoulders, but Callie did not let go letting her fingers slide down Erica's arms until they reached Erica's hands clasping them firmly in her own. Erica looked down at their joined hands and tried not to think of how she felt every time they touched. She closed her eyes and responded to Callie's comment.

"Me too," she said.

She didn't want to let go. She opened her eyes and found Callie looking at her concerned.

"You okay?"

_No, so not okay, so want to kiss you right now. So not okay._

"Yeah," she said as she let go of Callie's hands. "Let me go get some sheets and blankets. Unless you want my bed?"

"Erica, seriously I am not taking your bed. The pull-out is fine."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

She practically bolted out of the room and up the stairs. She found the blankets easily, but lingered in the hall. She's straight. She's straight. No matter how hot she is, no matter how many times she touches you, she will always be straight, she told herself over and over until she felt like she could look at Callie again and not melt into a puddle. Finally she made her way back downstairs.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

The next morning's breakfast was a chaotic affair. Erica was incredibly tired, despite what she had told Callie. She had begged and pleaded with Lucas and Allie to be quiet as they got ready for school, which they mostly were when they were upstairs. They looked ridiculously cute tip toeing down the steps like it was a game, but somehow they either forgot that Callie was sleeping in the living room or thought sound didn't carry from the kitchen. It had really been too much to ask of them, she thought as she watched them eat breakfast.

First Lucas wanted to pour his own milk and was whining like…well a seven year old about how unfair it was that Erica wouldn't let him. Then Allie had insisted on eating the same cereal as Erica which was healthier and had half the sugar. Erica had complied and then regretted it as Allie spent five minutes letting her cereal get mushy and looking quite miserable. Erica poured her another bowl of the sweet cereal Lucas was eating, which perked her up considerably and although Erica should have been happy that she was eating, she regretted getting her all peppy. Peppy Allie combined with excited Lucas meant the volume in the kitchen was being raised. She wanted to get breakfast over before she woke Callie, knowing Callie didn't sleep enough in general. But halfway through their pieces of toasts Lucas and Allie were chatting away like they were at a concert, namely at the top of their lungs trying to talk over each other and giggling at just how loud they could get. Erica had tried shushing. She had even tried glaring at them, but just when her own voice was about to get louder, a sleepy, grumpy looking, messed-up hair, T-shirt wearing Callie strolled into the kitchen.

"Are they always this loud?" she directed her question at Erica. Erica smiled as she watched Allie jump from her chair.

"Mommy, Mommy!" Callie picked her up and kissed her. "How'd you sleep Al? I'm sorry Nell couldn't stay with you."

"This was better. I got to sleep in Lucas's room. He has two beds."

Lucas had jumped down from his chair as well. "You slept over too. Cool!"

Callie set Allie down and bent to hug him.

"Yes, I did. You don't mind, do you?"

"Nuh uh. You can sleep over all the time and then Allie can too. Can they Mom?" he asked Erica who was busy pouring coffee into her favorite to-go cup. She was kind of half-listening to their conversation.

"Sure kiddo. We can just fix up that extra room, put a bed in for Allie, but I don't know where Aunt Cal's going to sleep," she teased.

"She can sleep in your room," he said with all the logic a seven year old could muster.

Erica spilled her coffee onto the counter, thankfully not getting too much of it on her hand.

"I don't think Aunt Cal would like that too much," she managed to say looking at the mess she had made.

And suddenly Callie was behind her with some paper towels.

"Don't be so sure," said Callie as she moved behind Erica. "That pull-out is okay, but I'm sure your bed is way more comfy," she said smiling. "Guys, finish your breakfast," she shouted to Lucas and Allie while she mopped up the mess Erica had made.

Erica was standing still, stupidly holding a dripping cup. She had managed to put the coffee pot back, but could not move with Callie still behind her. Callie reached for Erica's arm to steady her as she wiped the dripping cup. She seemed to be pressing her body into Erica. Finally, she moved slightly so that she wasn't standing directly behind Erica, but placed one hand at Erica's back keeping her in place.

"Did you get any of that on yourself?"

"No," said Erica. She really needed to move away from this woman.

Should she ignore the blatant flirting? She could not be misreading Callie's comment. Callie was definitely flirting with her and if Callie got to flirt with her, well she could dish it out too. Besides, she was getting a little tired of all the flirting and touching and feeling like she had to keep herself in check. If Callie wanted to play, she could play.

"Feel free to try out my bed anytime," said Erica looking at Callie intensely.

Callie's eyes widened in surprise and Erica smirked until Callie moved closer, turning her slightly and placing one hand on Erica's midsection. She licked her lips. _Oh god, she actually licked her lips._

"Maybe I will," said Callie standing so close, Erica felt her breath on her face. And then Callie started laughing and backed away.

"I'm better at the teasing than you are," she said.

"Yes, you are," said Erica not sure how to interpret what had just happened. "Get your stuff," she said to the kids although her eyes never left Callie's. The playful mirth was gone though. There was only a slightly pained expression. "Don't kill me okay," said Erica sincerely.

This was a game to Callie, she realized, flirting with her was just a game to her. One of the various, see if you can mess with the lesbian games straight women sometimes played. "I understand this is fun for you, but just don't take it too far, okay?" she said to Callie.

Callie was looking at her confused. "I think I missed something," she said. "I didn't mean anything...."

"I know," said Erica as she put the top on her coffee cup. "It's okay, don't worry about it." She sighed. "Forget I said anything."

She gave Callie a friendly squeeze on the arm. "I figure I'm up and dressed and they're ready so I'll take them to school, unless you want to take Allie?"

"No, that sounds good, let me just get my stuff and get out of your hair."

"No, stay as long as you like. The door locks automatically." She walked into the living room and grabbed her bag and jacket. "Two minutes guys. You have two minutes to get your stuff together. I'm going out to the car and will be leaving in exactly two minutes," she said to them.

A mad search ensued which Callie watched from the doorway. Allie seemed to be doing okay. Her stuff was mostly together, but Lucas had stuff everywhere and was frantically tossing everything in his school bag. She wanted to help him look, but didn't know where to begin. Finally they were out the door giving her kisses and hugs before dashing to the waiting car.

She watched them climb in and saw Erica turn her head and say something to them, probably about buckling themselves in. She squinted trying to see Erica's coffee cup through the windshield. She blinked. That was her cup, the one she had lent to Erica weeks ago. She smiled. Guess she liked it.

She thought about Erica's comment as she gathered her things. She hadn't meant to offend her, was just continuing the playful banter she enjoyed with Erica. But Erica had warned her off. She hadn't liked being warned off. She liked their interactions. A lot. She groaned. She had not wanted to deal with the revelation she had come to over pizza weeks ago and in some strange way, flirting with Erica had allowed her to put that epiphany to the side. She could act on the confusing feelings Erica inspired, without really acting on them. It felt safe to flirt with her like she did, let her attraction manifest itself in the flirting without real engagement. She picked up her bag and walked out the door.

It was only later as she was settling in to sleep that she realized she had left her top at Erica's. Erica had kindly lent her the t-shirt she was now wearing. Oh well, she could get it tomorrow.

Allie had books, and toys and clothes at Erica's. Callie had a coffee cup and now a blouse.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Chapter 8

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 8)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I'm going to try for two updates today, but make no promises. Also doing away with naming the chapters as I find it annoying. Our girls are getting closer and closer. Just stay with me a little longer.

Chapter 8

Callie was doing lasagna. It wasn't her specialty, but she didn't really have time for the whole enchilada mess she wanted to make, which involved marinating things and fresh tortillas and she just didn't have that kind of time. Between the few hours of sleep she had gotten at Erica's and her nap this morning, she had slept well, a rarity for her. It felt like she had hardly slept the last five years. The hours she needed to put in to succeed in her residency program and her desire to spend as much time as possible with her daughter meant something had to give. Sleep was usually that something and so she often went without it. And that surprisingly made the hours she actually slept, as short as they were, restless. But today she had slept pretty well. She hadn't woken up every two hours in a panic before she looked at the clock. She hadn't tossed and turned. She had thankfully just slept.

She had lined everything up for dinner before going to pick up the kids from school. She had an overnight shift tonight and hadn't heard from Nell, so that was a good sign. She hoped that meant the young woman was actually going to show. The last time Nell had started bailing on her at the last minute had meant lots of overnights for Allie in pediatrics. She hated doing that to her. Allie was okay staying at the hospital for the most part, but the hospital was big and pediatrics was nowhere near the surgical floor, so Callie felt far away, like no one would be there for Allie if she needed something.

The kids were grumpily doing homework at the dining room table. She had given them a snack and let them play for an hour before insisting on homework. Lucas had papers and notebooks spread all over the table. Allie was practicing letters on her lone sheet of paper.

The pan of lasagna went in as she heard her bell ring. She frowned, Erica was early. She went to the door and was disappointed to find Nell standing at her door, clearly dressed to go out and telling Callie she could not do tonight's overnight. Callie had just stood there a bit dumbfounded. She supposed she could beg, but it would be to no avail. Nell had already made her up mind. So she simply said thanks for letting me know and closed the door. No bonuses for that girl come Christmas. She went back to the kitchen idly wondering if she could possible impose on Erica again.

Thirty five minutes later, the lasagna was nice and bubbly and her bell rang again. She was fairly certain it was Erica this time. She put the lasagna on the cooling rack and tried not racing for the door. Lucas was already there asking who it was. She reached them just as Lucas opened the door.

"I beat you," he said.

Erica looked at him questioningly. "At what?" she demanded with a smile.

"The door. I was here before you," he said proudly.

"Okay, if you say so," she ruffled his hair and picked him up. "Have you behaved, my little monster?" she asked as she kissed his face. Lucas hugged her around her neck before she set his giggling little body down.

"Hey," she said to Callie. "God it smells great in here. Guess I can't convince you to come over and have chicken nuggets with us." She looked down before Callie could answer as Allie walked up to her.

"Hey Princess," she said as she lifted her off the ground and kissed her. "Is Lucas being good?" she asked Allie.

Allie nodded vigorously. "Are we going to your house or staying here?" she asked.

Erica set her down. "Sweetie, your Mom is here today, and it smells like she's been making you a delicious dinner, so I think you'll be staying here." She patted her head and Allie took off running.

"We're staying here Lucas," she shouted as she landed on the living room floor next to him.

"Oh…that's not what I…"

Callie put a hand on her arm. "Take off your jacket Dr. Hahn. That's the best invitation you're ever gonna get."

"Probably, but no, Callie I don't want to impose…."

Callie reached for Erica's jacket herself and began removing it.

"Seriously Erica, I made enough for all of us. You've fed and taken care of my daughter all week. Please let me just do this?" she begged.

Erica was unsure. She had resolved on the car ride over to stop thinking and obsessing about Callie, but she needed some distance in order to do that. She needed to stop taking Callie's playfulness so seriously. She had been afraid that her comment this morning might dampen their friendship, but Callie was still here, talking to her and still insisting they spend time together.

"I'll make my famous coffee," Callie added in a sing-songy voice.

Erica smiled, "Okay, but only because you're throwing in the coffee."

*******************

The lasagna was to die for. They had finished dinner and were now enjoying what Erica called Callie's special coffee.

"Cal, are you sure you didn't miss your calling? You are an amazing cook. I mean you're an amazing surgeon too. Everyone at that hospital is ga-ga for you, which I can't really blame them for, although it also kind of pisses me off, but God your food is just heavenly."

She stopped. Where in the hell was the babbling coming from?

Callie was smiling at her, "I think there was a compliment in there somewhere, so thank you." she said. "But you're wrong. Everyone at the hospital is not all about me. The residents really don't like me and well besides Christina, not that many friends there in general. I had a good friend for awhile, but she moved to L.A. She is a very cool awesome lady."

Deciding to ignore her babbling tonight which was very much out of character for her, Erica plunged ahead, "What do you mean? All the attendings and residents rave about you. Webber thinks you're single-handedly saving the ortho department. You publish more than some of the attendings, you certainly do more surgeries and more complicated surgeries."

"Erica, you've been there like a week. There is no way you could find all of that out in a week."

"A few weeks actually and you can if you ask the right questions and look in the right places," she said taking another sip of her coffee. "And I do," she finished. "Back to my original question, why aren't you a professional cook and what would it take for you to cook for me all the time?"

"You could marry me," said Callie laughing as she watched Erica's animated eyes darken as Callie's words reached her. She blinked. "Sorry I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

Erica looked down at her coffee. "That's okay," she said and just stopped herself from blurting out something embarrassing, like I'd marry you if you couldn't boil water. Seriously Erica you need to get this under control, she chastised herself internally.

"So why does it piss you off?"

"Excuse me?" asked Erica, not sure what Callie was referring to. Had she spoken out loud?

"You said in your little speech that it kind-off pissed you off. Why would it piss you off that people like me?"

"Oh…well because…" She was at a loss. Most definitely she needed to see someone about the whole Callie business because she was losing her ability to think rationally and the capacity to keep her little thoughts and feelings to herself.

Callie was smirking. "Come on Hahn, out with it."

"I… well I guess I don't like the ga-ga part," she said softly.

"What's the ga-ga part?" asked Callie.

Erica eyed her carefully. Callie was still smiling at her with those playful eyes just staring right back at Erica. She took a breath, gave the kids a glance, satisfied that they were still in their own little world in the living room and leaned forward.

"The parts where they seem enamored by you."

"Why would that bother you?" asked Callie the playfulness changing to serious contemplation all of sudden.

"Why do you think?" answered Erica.

Callie swallowed. "Oh," she said. The smile returned. "I think I like that."

"Yeah, you would, Torres. So are you still working tonight?" she asked more to change the subject then because she wanted to know, since she pretty much had Callie's schedule memorized.

Callie's eyes became concerned. "Yeah, I meant to ask you before." She sighed. "Nell bailed on me again."

Feeling relieved that she had successfully changed the topic, Erica jumped into this new conversation with fervor.

"Again? What's her problem? If you need, Allie can just stay with me tonight, if that's okay with you."

"That's more than okay. She loves it over there. Are _you_ sure it's okay?"

"For the love of Pete, Callie its fine. Why are you so concerned about this? It is not an imposition. Allie is angel. She's no trouble."

"I just don't want you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

Erica laughed. "I wish," she said under her breath as she took another sip. _There you go again Hahn, saying and thinking things you shouldn't._

They lingered over coffee for only a short time before Callie started cleaning up and Erica helped the kids gather their things to go across the street. This time Allie had a whole bag of clothes she was traipsing over. Apparently she wasn't sure what she would be wearing the next day. Erica's mind was whirring and clicking. It was ridiculous that Callie was being put into this situation by Nell. Nell was nice and good with the kids, but this wasn't the first time Callie had complained about her availability for overnight or later shifts. She let the whirs and clicks continue in the background as she watched the kids saying their goodbyes. Everyone got a hug and kiss from Callie which made her smile. Finally they were ready to go.

"So any special instructions?" asked Erica as they stood beside Callie's car.

"No, I don't think so. Call me if she gives you any trouble."

"What time is your shift over?"

"7am. I'll get here as soon as I can. I'm sure you have all sorts of things you need to do."

"Just come straight here and we'll do breakfast when the kids get up" said Erica she as she started walking away, but Callie put an arm out to stop her.

"Thanks Erica," she said and then reached over and kissed Erica on the cheek. It was quick and completely friendly, but it stopped Erica momentarily.

"Right, okay," she said after a few seconds. She saw Callie getting in her car, tried to shake off the kiss and walked towards her house.

____________

A week later, Erica was still contemplating her idea. Her brain's clicks and whirs had not failed her. She had come up with a workable solution to Callie's childcare issues with Nell, but she had yet to mention it to Callie. They were standing in the kitchen. It was 7:30 am and Callie had just come off of another overnight shift that Nell had refused to do. They had both noted the pattern. For the most part, it was the Friday and Saturday nights that she was refusing to do, so the boyfriend theory gained more support.

"Hey, listen..." Erica started, hands in her pocket leaning against the kitchen counter. "This may be a little strange and you do not have to take me up on it, but...I was thinking...On the nights you work overnight, if you want, Allie can sleep over here. I know Nell's been giving you a hard time about the overnights and well I thought if it would help you out. I'm here. I can get the kids ready for school if you're late and if you're not, you can just come over here and pick her up."

Erica looked at Callie who looked stunned by the suggestion.

"It's just an idea. Think about it or not. It's up to you. Don't feel like you have to take me up on the offer, okay? I won't be offended. I just thought it might work out."

Callie shook her head. "Yeah, no I will. Think about it, I mean." She stood arms crossed.

It would be perfect. She would not have to worry about Nell's absenteeism or taking Allie to the hospital overnight and then worrying about getting her to school on school days. It would not be too horrible for Erica since the kids went to the same school. And it had the added bonus of giving her more excuses to see Erica.

Although, she didn't need more excuses, they saw each other practically everyday and when they didn't...Callie pushed that thought away. She didn't want to think about how she felt when she didn't see Erica.

"I'll talk to Allie, but do you realize what you're getting into with this suggestion?" she asked Erica seriously. "I mean it would be perfect Erica. I would love for her to be here with you and Lucas. She loves it here and I know she's safe, but you'd practically be… well taking care of her. I pay someone right now to do that. I mean, I could pay…"

"Don't even make that suggestion Torres. I'm making this offer free and clear. It's not a big deal. I love Allie. I would much rather have her here regularly, instead of at the hospital or her constantly not knowing where she'll be spending the night. It's up to you, but she is always welcome here. So are you."

Erica walked out of the kitchen to try and calm herself down. How could Callie even suggest paying her for taking care of Allie? She wasn't sorry she had made the suggestion, but Callie's responses had been different than what she had expected. She had expected her to maybe refuse, say thanks, but no thanks, but offering to pay her had been…insulting. She was in the middle of the living trying to figure out where to go. The kids were still sleeping and the room was a mess. She decided she should just start cleaning.

"Erica?" she heard Callie's voice behind her.

She turned around and Callie was just there, standing in front of her.

"Hey," she said stepping back. Callie reached for her grasping both hands.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Callie looked at their joined hands before focusing on Erica again. "For a really long time it's just been me and Allie. I've never really had anyone that I could count on. I mean Bailey's great with my schedule and Addison helped a little when she was here, but I've just never had anyone that's said, let me help you with no strings attached. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Erica squeezed the hands holding hers. "Callie…I'm here. I don't make friends easily, but I'd like to think we're friends. And friends help each other. I would not hesitate to leave Lucas with you if I needed to. I'm here. Just think about it. I won't be hurt if you don't take me up on my offer, but I'm not making this offer because I need or want anything from you. Please don't…"

Callie put a finger to Erica's mouth. "I know," she said. "I'm sorry I said it. I'm just not used to it. I'm not used people that aren't family helping with Allie. Please forgive me?"

Erica was fighting for control, but she was losing the battle so she stopped breathing, stopped all brain function and concentrated on slowly removing Callie's fingers from her lips. She found it harder to step away from Callie. She tried, but Callie squeezed her hands and anchored her to the spot

.

"Forgive me?" Callie asked again.

Erica could do nothing but smile at her. "Nothing to forgive," she said. She brought Callie's hands to hers and kissed them lightly before letting go and finally stepping back.

"It's fine Callie. We're fine."

A relieved smile broke out on Callie's face. "Then I would love for Allie to stay with you."

"Okay then, that's settled."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________

The next few weeks were a frenzy of activity as they adjusted to their new circumstances and it was also the first time Erica had seen Callie angry. She didn't like it, especially as that anger had been directed at her. For Erica having Allie as a regular guest meant turning one of her extra bedrooms into a little girl's room and she had probably gone overboard with the new furniture. Of course she wouldn't admit that to anyone, especially Callie.

Allie had been excited, but her mother had been fuming when she saw the new room. The "conversation" that followed had not been pleasant for Erica. Callie had lectured her about spoiling Allie, about how Allie had a room in her own house, had reminded her that Lucas might get jealous. It had been Lucas's idea, she had protested to no avail. Callie had responded that she was the parent not Lucas and had to set boundaries. Finally Erica stopped arguing and let Callie yell at her for awhile. Eventually Callie stopped and sat next to her on the bed. They had sent the kids downstairs or rather Callie had sent the kids downstairs so they could "talk" so they were currently sitting alone in Allie's new room.

"Thank you," Callie said after minutes passed in silence.

"I just wanted her to have a place that was hers if she was going to be spending so many nights here."

Callie grabbed Erica's hand, her eyes still scanning the room carefully. "I know and I appreciate it. She loves it. I'm sorry I yelled," she said looking at Erica whose facial features were now more relaxed than they had been earlier.

"That's okay. I know this is a little extravagant, but Lucas said new room and Allie's eyes lit up and well, there's just something about you Torres women."

Callie laughed and lay back on the bed taking Erica's hand with her, and forcing her down as well. "Something about Torres women you like?" she asked.

"Lots of something's," said Erica propping herself on her elbow, facing Callie.

Callie was beaming at her. "We are tempting," she said with mischief in her eyes.

Erica was getting that hazy feeling again, that feeling that made her forget that this was her good friend, that feeling that made her vision go haywire and blurred the lines between friendship and romance and transformed the woman in front of her from fun-loving innocent friend to hot and sexy woman.

Erica closed her eyes and smiled. "Yes you are," she thought, except that she actually heard that thought in stereo. Had she said that out loud? She opened her eyes to see Callie staring back at her. Her breathing was even, but her eyes looked confused. Erica blinked rapidly.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." She pushed herself off the bed quickly and started to apologize. "Callie I'm sorry I was out of line with…."

Callie had followed her off the bed and grabbed one of her arms. She silenced Erica with a finger to her mouth. "It's okay. It's nice to be…desired," she said smiling. She caressed Erica's face lightly. "It's okay," she said again and then stepped away and out the door.

Erica blinked and looked around the room. She wished there had been witnesses because she wasn't sure if what just happened had actually happened. She fell back on Allie's new bed dramatically. _It's nice to be desired? Callie you have no idea._

___________________

Callie let herself into Erica's house with her very own key. After a week of their new arrangement with Allie doing overnights at Erica's they had decided it was probably prudent to exchange keys to their respective houses. She saw Erica as she entered already decked out in exercise gear. She had on black running pants and a loose fitting long sleeve shirt. She was currently lacing up her running shoes.

"Hey, how was your night?" asked Erica as she finished one shoe and started on the other.

"Not busy thank God. All ready to go out, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in 45 minutes, just take a nap if you want, kids won't be up for another couple of hours," said Erica standing up.

"Okay," said Callie as she went over to give Erica her customary greeting, a light kiss on the cheek and a quick squeeze of her arm.

It was a Latina thing, she had told Erica's confused face when she had first started doing it and it was. That was how she greeted her family, except that Erica wasn't family and none of Callie's friends got that greeting. But she didn't like to dwell on that. Instead she focused on how right it felt to do it, how natural. Besides that was how each of them greeted the kids, so it only made sense that they greet each other like that as well. Erica had never complained about it. She had shyly asked Callie about it when Callie started doing it, explaining that she hadn't wanted to misread things, but once it was explained she seemed to have no problem with it, came expect it even. Like now, today, a few seconds ago. Callie had seen it in her movements, could see that despite the fact that she had been in the midst of lacing her shoes, when she was done, she stood with an expectant look on her face that wasn't dispelled until Callie stepped forward to kiss her. It was natural and good and Callie didn't like to really think beyond that. She was taken out of her thoughts by Erica's voice.

"Shit! Sorry blankets are in the wash. Didn't get to finish them last night. Just go up to my room and nap."

"No that's okay; I'll just lie on your couch."

"Callie you'll get cold. Just lay down on my bed. Don't worry, there aren't any bed bugs or cooties or anything, no matter what Lucas says." She smiled. "Go, get some rest," she said as she walked out the door to start her run.

It was funny how easily they had established a routine. Allie sleeping over had made things a hundred times easier for Callie on those nights she worked late or overnight. At first she would go straight home and sleep before coming over to pick up Allie, but it soon became clear that it was easier to help Allie get ready for school at Erica's and since she was there she helped Lucas as well giving Erica time to put together a quick breakfast. After a few weeks, she found that going straight home to nap was also kind of unnecessary. Erica liked to run, had been missing it since she got Lucas. With Callie crashing at Erica's, Erica could resume her morning runs. So, the routine changed again. She would arrive at Erica's and take a nap while Erica ran. Then Erica would shower and do breakfast while Callie made sure the kids brushed their teeth and got dressed and ready. Breakfast was generally a loud affair before Erica and the kids left for school. Then she would return to her own house for some much deserved rest.

The afternoon routine had changed as well. If Callie was available she would pick up both kids, make sure they did their homework and think of something for dinner. Erica would come over, typically after stopping off at home to change clothes and the four of them would have dinner. On those few days they both worked days, Callie and Allie would walk over for breakfast and then Erica would drive the kids to school. Callie usually had longer hours, so she would take her own car to work arriving a little earlier than Erica and usually staying later.

It was comfortable and right. It was the routine, good as it was, that was putting all sorts of other ideas into Callie's head about her and Erica. It had to be, because she was not gay. She cleared her throat, deciding she did not need to think about this now, not when she was about to go into Erica's bed to sleep.

She had been doing a pretty good job of ignoring the whole liking Erica issue so far. The few times her mind thought beyond their immediate interactions, she always managed to find an explanation for her behavior or reactions. Sometimes she rationalized that this is what just how women friends were with each other, nothing weird about it. Sometimes she told herself that she was just a touchy feely person and that was why she always seemed to want to touch Erica. The rationalizations went on and on.

Pushing the questions aside once again, she bowed to the inevitable and made her way upstairs, checking on both kids before entering Erica's bedroom. The bed sheets were askew and put images into her head. She fought to push those images back and concentrated on her movements, slowly stripping her pants and shirt and climbing into the bed. Nothing weird about it, she kept telling herself.

But her stomach was doing those nasty little flips again and she was feeling a tug from parts south. She closed her eyes. Just sleep she told herself, over and over again until her body relaxed and sleep found her.

She woke to the sound of the shower and was momentarily confused. She looked around trying to get her bearings. She saw a pile of clothes by the bathroom door and realization struck her. Erica must be back, naked and in the shower. She couldn't stop the images that came into her head so she settled back down cursing.

You can't just stay here, she thought to herself. You have to get the kids ready and stop thinking about Erica. She got up, hoped she had been covered by the sheets when Erica walked in and threw her clothes on hurriedly. She heard the water in the shower stop just as she grabbed her shoes and walked out of the room. This harmless little attraction was getting to be too much. That place in her mind where she kept her list of things about Erica she didn't want to think about was getting long and threatening to overflow. She would need to deal with it soon, very soon.

Continued in Chapter 9 - Coming soon - Erica reaches a breaking point. 


	9. Chapter 9

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 9)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note:** Patience is a virtue folks. I didn't really want to separate the various pieces in this chapter, so it's a bit long. Some parts work better than others. Hope this satisfies those of you demanding kissing already. It's not exactly what you asked for but…

Chapter 9

Lucas looked at the number displayed on his mother's phone. He had pushed a lot of buttons and been confused by some of the menus, but he had finally found it. Callie Torres. He hit the green button hoping it was the right one. When he heard the phone ringing he knew he had done it right. He glanced nervously at the stairs. He didn't want his mother to catch him on the phone because he was scared that she wouldn't let him invite Callie and Allie over. He knew she wouldn't say no once they were here or once he had invited them.

Allie had been spending many of her night here at their house, but his mother had told him that tonight Allie would be with her Mommy. Aunt Cal wasn't working tonight, so no sleep over. But they had planned on watching _Nemo_. He and Allie were going to sleep in the living room in their sleeping bags just like camp. His Mom had told them they could have pizza and popcorn. But that was before Allie's Mommy had found out she didn't have to work on Saturday night. His Mom had tried explaining it to him, but it didn't make sense. Aunt Cal could come over too, he had argued and the four of them could have a sleepover. His Mom had rubbed his head and told him they would do it next week. But next week was ages away and he and Allie had been looking forward to _Nemo_ since forever. He had tried whining and then just arguing that it would be more fun with all four of them instead of next week when there would just be three of them, but his Mom had just smiled and told him next week would have to do and that _Nemo_ wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't believe they wouldn't want to come over. His Mom hadn't even asked Aunt Cal if she wanted to, which is why he was looking anxiously at the stairs hoping Aunt Cal answered before his Mom came downstairs.

"Hey!"

"Hi…"

"Lucas?

"Yeah."

"Honey is something wrong? Is your Mom okay? Do you need me to come over?"

"Yes. Come over. But…no there's nothing wrong. I just wanted you guys to come have pizza and maybe Allie and you could sleepover. I know you're not working, but me and Allie were supposed to watch _Nemo_ and Mom said we could sleep in our sleeping bags and have pizza and make popcorn. Don't you wanna come over for popcorn? We're all gonna sleep in the living room like camping, it would be so cool Aunt Cal."

"Does your Mother know that you're having a slumber party?" asked Callie suspiciously.

"Um yeah? Oh oh"

"Who are you on the phone with you little monster?" Callie heard Erica's slightly raised voice.

"It's Aunt Cal," he replied cheerfully handing over the phone as he bolted from the room.

"Hello?" Erica asked into the phone.

"Hi. So I hear you're having a slumber party."

"A slumber party?" Erica asked clearly confused. "Oh, well…" she stopped, blowing out air in exasperation. "We were planning on pizza and a movie and sleeping bags in the living room. Is everything okay? I didn't hear the phone ring," she asked still concerned.

"Lucas called over here. He invited me and Allie for pizza, popcorn and _Nemo_," said Callie chuckling into the phone.

Erica's gaze turned toward the little brown haired boy jumping up and down in the living room.

"I'm sorry," Erica started. "I guess he's used to Allie spending the night. They had this big _Nemo_ thing planned. I must be too boring for him to do it with just me so he needs to scheme ways to get his best friend over here. I imagine you want to take advantage of a rare Saturday night off and just spend some quality time with Allie. I'll tell him no."

"Well okay, but we'll all be disappointed. I mean I thought the invitation was for me too, so it's not like Allie and I would be apart."

Erica's heart started pounding. Definitely not a good idea for Callie and her to be in a slumber party type situation, she chanted mentally in her head. She closed her eyes and sighed into the phone.

"You actually want to come over?" she asked. "I would have thought you'd had enough of us, although I suppose it could be fun, you and me and the two munchkins in our pajamas."

"I don't wear pajamas to bed," said Callie in the most no nonsense tone she could produce. She heard an audible gulp on the other line.

"Yeah, we'll it's not that type of slumber party, so you better wear pajamas. I'll order the pizza. Come over whenever you like."

Erica hung up the phone and took a moment to breathe. That woman was going to be the death of her. She had been trying so hard to clamp down on the things Callie made her feel, but Callie was making it impossible. Actually, that wasn't true. Erica enjoyed the flirting and banter; even if it wasn't going anywhere and she had chastised herself a million times for not trying hard enough to put a stop to it altogether. The fact was she liked it. She didn't have time to think about it right now though. Resolving to reflect on it later, she looked up the pizza place on her phone and hit talk.

* * *

Callie smiled as she carefully put down the phone. "Pack your jammies Allie. We're going to a sleep over."

A short time later they walked out of the house as the sun was just starting to disappear over the horizon. _I'm playing with fire here_, thought Callie as she handed Allie her backpack for the short walk across the street. But fire was enticing sometimes and Erica was like getting lost in a nice warm campfire, feeling the warmth all around you and enjoying the wildly dancing flames. She knew her constant flirting and teasing were affecting Erica, but instead of feeling bad or weird about it, she loved it. It was probably the reason she couldn't seem to stop herself. They walked slowly across the front lawn, the smell of fresh cut grass still lingering in the air. Callie was lost in her thoughts.

The problem was that all the shameless flirting the last few weeks was starting to affect Callie as well. She had found herself wondering more than once what it would be like to kiss Erica. She thought Erica wanted to and that should have sent alarm bells to all parts of her brain. Instead, it made her anxious and excited. She wondered if Erica would ever cross that line with her. Part of her wanted her to and another part did not, was too scared of the possible consequences. But she was fairly certain Erica wanted to kiss her unless she was reading everything wrong. Hell maybe girls did things differently and she was getting her signals mixed up.

They approached the front door just as it swung open wildly sending a laughing seven-year old clad only in sweat socks and jeans careening to the floor laughing. Allie rushed into the house just as Erica jumped out from her hiding place behind a side table and lunged at both kids, engaging them in a tickle fight. Long fingers sought out and found sensitive spots and raucous laughter was the only sound Callie heard for awhile.

She let herself in as the laughter died. She looked down to find Erica sitting on the floor smiling back at her.

"Hey. Thanks for coming," was all Erica could manage.

The kids took advantage of Erica's distraction and scurried to the living room. Erica rose to her feet shouting "Put your pajamas on you little creep or we'll give your share of pizza to Callie here."

"You know…" Callie said as she bent down to pick up the backpack Allie had discarded in her haste to join the tickle fight. "You're going to have to follow through on your threats or they'll never respect you."

"Yeah, I know. Here let me take those from you." Erica reached for the backpacks and smirked. "Anything breakable in these?"

"Not that I can think of," said Callie removing the jacket she wore. She regretted the words as soon as they were out.

She watched as the backpacks were catapulted into the living room barely missing the kids sitting in front of the television. Allie had decided it would save time if she changed at home and was already in her pajamas. Callie had not bothered to argue, glad that the girl was willingly changing into pajamas. Lucas had his pajamas strewn about him along with the clothes he had already discarded before the tickle fight, but was making no move to change.

The sound of the doorbell pulled Callie out of her contemplations. She saw Erica reaching for her back pocket and pulling out money Callie assumed was for pizza.

"You take care of the pizza and I'll try to get Lucas dressed," offered Callie.

"It's a deal, but I gotta tell you, I do that every night and it's no picnic," said Erica as she opened the door.

They ate their pizza at the dinner table without any major calamities. No food was thrown, no kids cried and no milk was spilt. Moments later, the leftover food was put away, the dishes were in the dishwasher and two kids and two adults were sitting among pillows, blankets and sleeping bags trying to decide if _Nemo_ was really the movie they wanted to watch. Actually Erica was teasingly trying to talk the kids out of it, but they were on to her and were not relenting on the movie choice.

"Hey you guys aren't in your pajamas. You can't watch the movie without pajamas," said Lucas as he lunged at Erica.

Erica caught him and wove long arms around him as he settled in her lap. "I think you're right," she said glancing over to gauge Callie's reaction. "Why don't you guys put _Nemo_ in and Callie and I will go change into our PJs. Okay?"

"Okay," said Allie as she walked over to the movie cases that were strewn about the floor along with the blankets and pillows. Erica rose to her feet with Lucas still in her arms. She bounced him lightly laughing as he squealed. Finally, she put him down on the couch and saw Callie grab one of the backpacks that had been tossed in the room earlier. They left the room and headed for the stairs without a look, a touch or a word passing between them.

* * *

_Callie was up against the wall in the hallway at the top of the stairs with Erica's body plastered to her, their mouths locked in a fire inducing kiss. Erica's thigh was ensconced between Callie's thighs, the heat scorching her through her jeans. Her hands were on Callie's backside kneading and squeezing in time to Callie's hip movements, urging, and pulling her closer. Her chest was engaged in its own rubbing motion moving up and down against Callie, pressing forward wanting to erase shirts and bras with friction. They were both trying desperately to breathe through noses, as mouths and tongues were otherwise engaged. She detached her mouth from Callie's to bury herself in Callie's neck, reveling in Callie's panting and moaning._

Suddenly Erica's stomach lurched and the ground seemed to be coming up fast. Somehow her forward motion was broken and she was standing up right again on two sure feet. She blinked rapidly.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Callie. "You kind of missed that last step."

"Yes, I'm fine," she smiled at Callie embarrassed not only by her apparent stumble, but by the vividness of the vision she had just had.

"Um...you can change in Allie's room or the bathroom, your choice. Let me know if you need anything," she said as she opened the door to her own bedroom and rushed inside.

She closed it rapidly and headed to her bathroom to splash cool water on her face. She needed a cold shower, but there was no time for that and besides, cold showers could make Callie suspicious.

That she was attracted to Callie Torres was no surprise. She had been attracted to her from the moment she had first seen her sitting at Christina's table at Rumors. That she couldn't seem to control her body's reactions to Callie was disturbing and completely out of character for her. Erica didn't do crushes and she especially did not do straight girl crushes.

She went back to her bedroom and pulled out pajama pants, a sleeveless undershirt and the not often used pajama top. The less body parts were exposed tonight the better. Callie had a very deliciously bad habit of touching Erica everywhere. Erica had no power to stop her and so she reasoned the less skin exposed to Callie's touches, the better for her overall physical and mental well-being. She had to get this under control, but for the first time in Erica's life she didn't know how she was going to do that. She had been trying for a couple of months with no success.

Her body had stopped listening to her mind a long time ago when it came to Callie so she couldn't do what she normally did - which was to just will her body to stop.

She needed to find another way and quickly because those were pretty vivid images she was having back there and there was nothing she wanted more right now than to make them reality. She sighed heavily as she stripped her clothes, changed into her pajamas and thought about the night ahead. She'd had no intention of sleeping on the floor before Lucas invited Callie and Allie over. She thought she could get away with the couch. But now with Callie joining their little overnight slumber party, they'd all end up on the floor, a prospect her back was objecting to. She just hoped they would end up putting the kids between them. She didn't need to be having erotic visions of Callie while sleeping next to her.

She stepped into the hall just as Callie was closing the door to Allie's room dressed in a short sleeveless nightgown that came to way above her knees. Erica saw bare shoulders and legs. The rest of Callie was covered by only the barest material, teeny tiny straps the color of mocha were holding up the flimsy garment on Callie's body. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Hey," said Callie. "I forgot, I usually wear a robe with this thing, do you have anything I could borrow?"

Erica said nothing. Her brain had short circuited. She stood in the hallway just staring.

"Erica?" said Callie coming closer.

Callie's scent permeated Erica's paralyzed state as she slowly came out of her stupor to see the vision that had sent her into oblivion standing right in front of her, smelling of vanilla.

"Yeah, um what?" she asked blushing.

Callie was sporting a wide grin, almost laughing.

"You alright, Erica?" she asked again letting her voice get breathier and lower and completely invading Erica's space until they were so close, their noses almost touched.

Erica found her voice, knew it would sound shaky when she spoke, but proceeded anyway, hoping that the very act of forming sounds that linked together to make words would snap her out of the state she was in and allow her to back away from Callie's smiling face.

"I...I have pajama tops you can borrow," she said wondering if that was actually true. She was right, the words did allow her to step back and away from Callie, but Callie followed still smiling that ridiculously wide, laughing smile.

She backed into her bedroom and turned quickly opening and closing various drawers until she found the right one and then picking up a flannel pajama top.

Callie was right behind her. Erica held the pajama top in her hand. Her heart was thumping wildly and her brain was doing laps trying to find a way to make everything just stop. It came to her in a flash. She needed to stop trying to make her reactions to Callie go away or be different. That was an impossible task. She didn't need to banish them she just needed to control them. She backed into Callie, meshing their bodies together and then turned abruptly. She needed to stop letting Callie set the stage to this little play. Now it was Callie backing away at the look on Erica's face. Erica smiled at her as she brought her arms around Callie draping the pajama top around Callie's shoulders and continuing to push her back until she hit the closed door of the bedroom.

This was the dangerous part of her little game. It was easier for Callie to play games with her. Callie wasn't really interested, wasn't attracted to Erica. Callie was straight, but for Erica, this little game brought her too close to the edge of something she wanted to make reality. Her mind went briefly to the image she'd had of the two of them up against the wall in the hall. Her breathing shifted. Her hands were on Callie's waist wanting so very much to travel upwards. She wanted to close her eyes, go with the desire and let everything drift away. But instead she stood pressed lightly up against Callie, her hands stationary on Callie's waist. Their faces were so close. Erica leaned in, letting Callie feel her ragged breath, letting her eyes linger on Callie's lips. She moved closer to Callie's mouth making a last minute detour that ended with her lips close to Callie's ear.

"Stop messing with me," she whispered. And then because she hated for Callie to think she was mad at her, she pulled back and smiled pulling Callie into a hug that she hoped convinced her that everything was okay, that despite the small loss of control, despite the teasing, they were okay.

Erica pulled back. "Seriously, why some guy has not snatched you up yet is the eighth wonder of the world," she said laughing lightly. "Come on. We better get downstairs before those monsters burn down the house."

* * *

Callie was in a bit of a daze as she followed Erica downstairs, Erica's slightly oversized pajama top draped over her shoulders. She managed to slip her hands through the sleeves as she walked thinking about what had just happened. She loved teasing Erica, probably more than she should. She had tried, really tried to not tease her too badly. Erica had already warned her off once, but she remembered that scene in the kitchen and how Erica had seemed to regret the warning moments after she had spoken the words. She had tried to take Erica's warning to heart and back away from the flirty teasing, but it hadn't taken long for her to start up again. She knew Erica was attracted to her and it intrigued her and made her feel sexy and so she selfishly encouraged it, even though she was straight and nothing could come of it; except she thought about it a whole heck of a lot for a girl who claimed to be as straight as an arrow. She liked seeing that desire in Erica's eyes and knowing it was her that put it there. It wasn't fair to Erica and she knew that, but flirting was fun and harmless. Erica knew she was straight. The attraction between them was just that, attraction. It had nothing to do with their friendship and they both understood that there was no possibility of romantic involvement, so it was safe, right?

Except that it hadn't necessarily felt safe back there in Erica's bedroom. And that had been happening a lot lately. At first the flirtatious behavior was something she could pull back from easily, see it for what it was and then retreat. But lately it was getting harder and harder to see the line between playful teasing and her desire to make some of the flirty things real. She had wanted Erica to kiss her back there. Erica's body on hers, being backed into the door, feeling Erica's labored breathing had all triggered a response in her that had her own breathing going all irregular, her blood boiling. But it was more than just a physical response. Erica's eighth wonder of the world comment had knocked her off balance too because in that moment it seemed wrong somehow that some guy snatch her up when she had the most wonderful person in the world right in front of her, who would probably do the snatching herself if only Callie would let her.

They reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You guys took forever," said Lucas. "Can we do the popcorn now?"

He was excited. They both were, but they hadn't moved from their sleeping bags.

"I'll do the popcorn," said Callie needing both the distraction and some distance from Erica.

"Okay," sad Erica settling herself down on the couch. "You guys ready for the movie or do you want to want to wait until the popcorn's ready?"

Callie heard the question as she walked into the kitchen to prepare the popcorn, too deep in her own thoughts to pay attention to the response.

* * *

Erica sat on the couch watching the characters on the screen, hearing the cheery music, seeing them talk. She couldn't make out the dialogue though. It was all muffled to her. She had stopped being able to discern that about 15 minutes ago or rather five minutes into the movie. She thought she had put the little episode upstairs out of her mind, but it had come back like a heavy mantle, pushing her down and just making everything jumbled and confused. There was too much in her head, too much she was trying to hold in. Had she been able to understand the words being spoken on the television by fish underwater, it would have hardly mattered.

She was doing it again. She didn't know how she always let herself get back here, but she was once again in that place where the longing to be with Callie was intense and no amount of rationalization could make that desire recede. She rubbed her hands up and down her thighs nervously.

Callie was seated next to her seemingly immersed in the movie. They had barely spoken since coming down the stairs, although the smiles they shared belayed any animosity. No, Callie seemed to be lost in her own thoughts or maybe she was just lost in the movie. The kids were busy munching on popcorn happily as they sat in the sleeping bags that covered the floor of the living room. Erica continued the nervous rubbing, wanting to calm her overactive libido, wanting to stop thinking about touching Callie and kissing Callie. It had been a game upstairs. She had wanted to turn the tables on Callie, to wrestle control of the flirty behavior from Callie so that she could put a clamp on the thoughts that seemed to constantly buzz in her head whenever Callie was around, thoughts that need not be acted on or even acknowledged. Callie was straight. She wasn't interested, not even a little, no matter how many times she shamelessly teased Erica.

But the snippets of the fantasies she had been having increasingly along with her actions upstairs were haunting her. She had thought that by taking control of the situation, she could harness those feelings, defeat them. It had worked for about five minutes. She had managed to not think about Callie or all the things Callie made her feel for five minutes, but the whole thing was too intense to be forgotten or pushed to the side like soggy vegetables. She had thought that if she pushed back with Callie, gave her a taste of the effect Callie had on her, came on strong, that Callie would shirk from the teasing, that she would be uncomfortable and just stop. But Callie seemed to have the opposite reaction. Erica had seen it upstairs. Callie was intrigued by the desire she saw when Erica had let her passions flow. Erica thought she might have even liked it. She had almost kissed Callie upstairs. She had wanted to.

Now she sat and wondered if she should have. She had not seen fear or disgust in Callie's eyes upstairs. She hadn't been rejected. And that was a problem, because it was one of the things that kept Erica in check, the idea that two women together was something Callie was not intrigued by. But that was gone. Gone was the fear of complete rejection, the fear that Callie would recoil from her. None of that had happened. The things that had allowed her to somewhat successfully not think about how it would feel to kiss Callie were gone.

Now it was all she could think about and having Callie this close was not helping. The kids weren't even the deterrent they usually were. They were captivated by the colorful characters on the screen, oblivious to Erica and her nervous rubbing. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes wanting to will herself to relax and forget what had happened upstairs. Suddenly warmness invaded her every pore. Callie's hands had reached out to cover one of hers, effectively halting the constant rubbing.

"You're going to wear out your pants," Callie said quietly.

Erica let out a breath and stopped fidgeting waiting for Callie to remove her hand. She didn't. Erica almost groaned. She sat still, only taking long breaths in intervals. Callie's fingers wrapped themselves around her hand and turned it over, palms meeting, fingers curling into each other, decisively intertwining their hands. Erica looked at her, but Callie's attention was fixed on the movie. The only indication she gave that she was aware of Erica watching her was the gentle squeeze of her hand. Deciding that she needed to relax if she had any chance of getting through the movie, she closed her eyes, squeezed Callie's hand and concentrated. It worked for the most part. Somehow being close to Callie, holding her hand seemed to calm her and she started to be able to make out the words being spoken on the screen.

Ten minutes later she began fidgeting again. Callie noticed and squeezed her hand. She shifted in her seat and leaned into Erica, resting her head on Erica's arm. Erica went with the feeling, detaching her left hand from Callie's right and put her arm around Callie. The hand holding ended, but Erica decided this was better. She felt Callie's head on her chest. Hand holding was over-rated anyway. But then Callie reached over and grabbed Erica's hand, the one that was not lazily tracing patterns on Callie's back. The next forty minutes were bliss, but somewhere along the way, they stopped paying attention to the movie and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Erica was feeling pain. It was persistent, seemed to have no origin and would not go away. She tried everything. She rubbed, she moved her neck, stretched it, but the pain persisted. Slowly her sleeping consciousness gave way to wakefulness and the pain intensified, but this time she found relief as she lifted her head from its awkward position. It had been tilted to the side in sleep with no support.

"Ow," she said untangling her hand from the warm spot it had gotten itself into and rubbing the affected area. She felt a heavy weight on her left side and looked down in confusion. Lucas sometimes fell asleep on her, but he took up less room and was not as heavy. Her eyes opened wide. Callie was asleep, her head on Erica's chest, the hand that had been holding Erica's now resting on Erica's pajama clad stomach.

Erica smiled. She was about to put her head back down again, but thoughts came rushing at her. They had been watching a movie. She looked at the dark television. In fact, she noted that someone had turned off the lights in the living room. The only illumination came from the kitchen and hallway lights. She listened intently. She heard whispered giggles coming from the kitchen. She wondered what time it was and what the two munchkins who had let them slumber were doing in the kitchen. Nothing good probably.

She looked at Callie still sleeping soundly, her hand now clutching at Erica's pajama top. Erica just watched enchanted by the beautiful relaxed face. She never got to see Callie this relaxed. Callie was a worrier. She tended to worry and freak out about everything. But in sleep, apparently, she could relax.

She hated waking her. She tried inching away slowly, but Callie's grip tightened with every move she made.

"No wonder I can't resist you woman, you just want to hang on don't you?" muttered Erica.

"You can't resist me, eh?" she heard Callie's voice hoarse from sleep and sounding sexier than ever.

"I thought you were asleep. You weren't supposed to hear that."

"That's okay," said Callie as she raised her head and rubbed her eyes.

"What happened? Where are the kids?"

"We fell asleep. I think they're in the kitchen. I was thinking of sneaking up on them," she smiled at Callie.

Callie groaned and laid her head against the back of the couch. "The two of them are impossible. They're easier to manage separately. You know that don't you?" she said.

Erica had been trying to comb her hair with her fingers. Her hands slowed at Callie's comment. It bothered her and managed to dispel her good mood.

"Yeah, well that's probably just math," she said getting up off the couch.

She was pulled back down by the seat of her pants. She plopped down next to Callie again.

"You're not going to scare them, are you? Allie won't sleep if you do, then I won't sleep and I'll be crankier than I am now."

Erica gave her a look.

"I wouldn't give her nightmares, Callie. I know I suck at this, but I'm not stupid."

Callie was taken back. "I know you're not stupid. What do you mean you suck at this? If you're talking about the kids, I didn't mean..."

"I know what you meant," said Erica getting up quicker this time and stepping towards the kitchen.

Callie was looking a little bewildered. She thought about what she had said. Crap! It had not come out right. She closed her eyes momentarily before getting up and following Erica.

* * *

Erica stepped into the well lit kitchen expecting to find giggling children. Instead she found an open box of Chips Ahoy, a gallon of milk and two children asleep on the counter their hands still holding half-eaten cookies. There faces were a mess of chocolate and caked on milk. She stood there not stifling the quiet laughter that rose out of her. She stopped the moment she felt Callie beside her, thinking Callie was going to be pissed. She turned to gauge Callie's reaction.

Sure enough, Callie looked pissed or pissy, she wasn't sure which. Erica let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault. I shouldn't have left the cookies out where he could get to them. We can probably just…"

She was trying to think of a plan that would make Callie less pissed at her and that would not disturb Allie and Lucas too much. It had to be more than leaving them as they were, but less than waking them up to brush their teeth. She looked at the clock. It was eleven o'clock, no wonder they conked out. She walked over to them, Callie at her heels, having said nothing to Erica's apology. Erica picked the cookies out of their hands and set them to the side. She put the milk back in the fridge and went to the sink to wet a couple of paper towels.

"Why don't we just let them sleep it off? We can clean them up as best we can and just tuck them into their sleeping bags. God they've had so much junk today," offered Erica.

Callie took one of the paper towels from Erica and began wiping her daughter's face. Allie was sleeping soundly and although she frowned a little, she did not wake. Erica went to do the same to Lucas, but Callie leveled a stare at her, so she stopped. Her stomach sank. _Callie must be pissed if she doesn't want to be anywhere near me._

She hated this feeling. There were times when she looked at Callie in complete awe. She was such a perfect Mom. She knew what to do, when and how. She knew when a punishment was too heavy handed or when it was too lenient. She knew when to give Allie freedom and when to hold back. Erica knew none of these things. She knew how to be an Aunt not a parent. And right now she felt very much like the stupid Aunt and not the parent she needed to be.

Callie finished with Allie, took the second paper towel from Erica's hands and started cleaning off Lucas who tried swatting her away lazily. Callie chuckled.

"This is totally your fault," she whispered to Erica. "So you get to carry both of them into the next room. I cleaned them up as best I could. You get to cart them to their sleeping bags."

Erica blinked.

"Erica? Now."

Erica moved reaching for Allie who was lighter than Lucas. She picked her up, heard the small moan of displeasure, and waited until Allie settled herself in her arms, laying her head on Erica's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her neck.

She made her way to the living room and tried not tripping on the various toys and the bundle of sleeping bags the kids had laid out for their slumber party. She stumbled only slightly before bending down on one knee and laying Allie gently on the pink sleeping bag. She slipped off Allie's slippers, took the sweater she had been wearing off her limp body and left her in her pjs. She brought the blankets up around her and placed a gentle kiss on her head.

"Night Mom," she heard.

"Night sweetie," she said knowing Allie was sleepy and most likely confused about who was tucking her in.

* * *

Callie finished getting more chocolate and milk from Lucas's face and hands and thought about picking him up and taking him to his own sleeping bag. It was unfair of her to make Erica do it. She was being bitchy to Erica and she knew it. She also knew why. That whole incident upstairs had thrown her way off balance, like almost completely off the balance beam. She had liked feeling Erica that close. She had really wanted to feel those lips on hers. It was all she had thought about as she made the popcorn and sat on the couch pretending to watch the movie. And slowly as the opening credits had floated on the screen she had admitted to herself that she had been incredibly turned on by Erica and that made her feel incredibly frustrated.

It wasn't really Erica's fault, but in a way it was. If Erica were a straight woman, she was convinced this whole thing would not be a problem. There would be no questions in her head about the nature of their relationship. They would just be two friends trying to help each other out and love or kissing would not come into it. If she and Addison were doing this she would not be frustrated that she could not touch her like she wanted to touch Erica. And so she reasoned, the problem was the possibility that Erica's sexuality presented. Because Erica was gay, a romantic relationship was all of a sudden possible and it was messing everything up.

She knew why Erica was being all weird and fidgety around her. Erica was a normal, homosexual woman and she liked Callie. It was obvious. It was obvious even before that episode upstairs. The problem and Callie was honest enough about this to name it, recognize it, and put it front and center, was that she liked Erica too. She flirted with her constantly, had been flirting with her since they had first started hanging out together. She had not fallen asleep on her by accident. But it was impossible. Callie wasn't gay. That should be enough reason really. She was not gay and so they could not embark on any type of relationship because it was doomed to fail. She was not gay. It should be enough.

But somehow it wasn't, because she still felt tingly all over whenever she touched Erica and she was definitely hot and bothered by that little scene upstairs. The whole thing, the whole situation was making her cranky. Telling herself she was not gay over and over had done nothing to dispel the feelings she was having, the sadness she felt when they were not going to be able to see each other for a day, the complete elation and giddiness when Erica was in her presence again. God, she was worse than Allie when she didn't see Lucas and Erica. Thinking she was not gay had done nothing to suppress her desire to kiss Erica upstairs. It wasn't helping her now because she was still thinking about it. In fact, that was why she had been cranky with Erica in the living room. She hadn't wanted to deal with the kids. She wanted to stay on the couch and flirt some more, maybe see if she could coax a kiss out of Erica this time. She wanted to kiss Erica and at the same time, the prospect terrified her.

She walked over to Lucas whose eyes were squinting, his face frowning, his hands twitching in agitation. She wondered if this was one of the nightmares he sometimes had of his parents. He had not witnessed the accident that had taken their lives, but he was a smart boy with an active imagination and she knew that he sometimes woke from nightmares about it. She put a hand on his head running her fingers through his short hair. It seemed to relax him and his features returned to normal, his hands relaxed again. Erica walked in and stopped short.

"He okay?" she asked slowly making her way to them.

"Yeah, I think he was getting a little fidgety. I thought it was maybe a nightmare."

Erica looked at her. "Thanks. He looks okay now, so whatever you did, thanks." She picked him up in much the same way she had picked up Allie. She turned to Callie.

"You always seem to just know what to do." She smiled weakly and walked out of the kitchen.

Callie wanted to follow, but she relented. She hoped Erica would not decide to leave her on her own and go directly to bed. She turned to the cabinet she knew held the coffee and began making preparations.

* * *

A few minutes later, Erica walked back into kitchen, hands in her pockets.

"They're all settled in. Thanks for your help."

"Erica, you don't have to thank me. They're my kids too, you know."

They were both silent.

"That was an incredibly awkward thing to say," said Callie after two long minutes.

Another two long minutes passed in silence.

Erica was frowning. She wanted to say the right thing here, but she was at a loss for what that was exactly.

"I guess sometimes it feels like that."

"Yeah it does," answered Callie. "Coffee?"

"I think we need to talk," said Erica.

"That sounds ominous," said Callie pouring them both cups. She handed one to Erica who sat stiffly at the island.

"About what happened upstairs?" asked Callie.

"Yes," answered Erica. Thinking there was no better defense than an offense, she began quickly trying to head off any awkward explanations from Callie.

"I think we should stop...doing what we did upstairs." Erica frowned. She was usually more articulate than this. She tried again. "Maybe we need some distance from each other, we should start spending some time apart. I'm starting to get a little confused about what's happening and I wouldn't want the kids to get the wrong idea about things either."

Callie was taken aback. "What are you talking about? What happened upstairs had nothing to do with the kids."

"Well no, not directly, but...Callie all the teasing has to stop. It's...not good for us to act like that. This whole situation is just getting confusing...you and me and the kids…we…it's just getting confusing. Things seem like things they aren't and I'm afraid that when things change, it will be bad."

"What do you mean? Why do things have to change? What if I like things the way they are?"

"Callie, you're a beautiful, talented, smart woman." She took a deep breath. "I wanted to kiss you upstairs," she said softly not looking at Callie. _And I want to kiss you right now_, she thought in her head. "But you are not gay. I would never be inappropriate with you, but there's only so much teasing I can take before I start to have thoughts that don't belong in my head. All of this just makes me think of things that can't ever be and for my own sanity I have to stop. We have to stop. Maybe we should step back a little from each other, spend some time apart."

"Why? Look we can stop the teasing, but I don't want to spend time apart," said Callie genuinely confused.

"Callie it's not just the teasing. It's everything. Don't you think we're letting the kids get too close? I mean one of these days some guy is going to figure out how great you are and you'll want to have a real family with him and there won't be room for me or Lucas."

Callie was staring straight ahead. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"There will always be room for you and Lucas in my life."

Erica grabbed her hand. "I know, but not like this, not like we are now..." She let go of Callie's hand. "Not like we've been acting. If things keep going like this, I'm not sure how the kids would handle it. I think such an abrupt change would be devastating to them. We can't let that happen. Besides, you said so yourself. They are impossible to handle together. Maybe its best if we just pull back, have more of a normal friendship."

"A normal friendship? I didn't realize we didn't have a normal friendship. What is that exactly? We hire strangers to take care of our kids when we're at work, so that we can see each other at holidays and birthday parties or maybe we can go bowling once a week."

Erica stared at the ceiling. She wasn't making much sense. She knew why. There were two things going on and she was confusing them. She wanted Callie to stop flirting with her. That was the first thing, but she was also getting scared about all the time they spent together. Her physical attraction to Callie she thought was normal and manageable - as long as Callie stopped with the teasing. Her emotional connection to Callie and Allie was more difficult to untangle. She was getting scared of it, of how much a part of her life they were becoming. It made her queasy to even think about not being able to spend time together like they did now. So she had to withdraw now before she couldn't because eventually things would change. She knew that. She had to prepare herself.

"Maybe, something like that," she said absently.

"So you are proposing that we end our friendship so that the kids won't be devastated later, when I marry some guy or you shack up with some woman?"

"No Callie. I am saying that I think this seems like a family to them and it's not. We are not involved. We aren't mom and dad. And one of these days you will find a Dad for Allie and everything will change and then you'll have this family that Lucas and I won't be a part of. That's fine. It really is. It's how it should be, but we need stop pretending like we're a family, because when you do meet that guy and you start a family with him, the kids aren't going to understand the change."

"I don't understand. That makes no sense. Even if I did find someone, Lucas would always, always be welcome in Allie's life and in my life. Always. They're best friends. You don't just break up best friends."

Erica contemplated that. Callie was right. This wasn't really about the kids. It was about her and what she could handle. Allie and Lucas would be fine no matter what happened. But Erica wouldn't. She wanted Callie and Allie to be her family along with Lucas. She wanted to continue this thing with Callie. She wanted it to progress to the point where Callie and Allie were here permanently. But that wasn't going to happen. Eventually, Callie would meet someone and when that happened, it wasn't Lucas who would be devastated. It was her.

She got up and walked over to the sink depositing her cup. "Maybe we should table this discussion for now. We should try to get some sleep. I'll stay with the kids down here. You can have my bed upstairs unless you want to sleep on a hard floor."

"I don't think we're done with this conversation," said Callie.

Erica's shoulders slumped as she sat back down, her head in her hands.

"What else is there to say? This is so cliché and I really hate how it sounds, but I like you Callie. I like you a lot. I like you in that way I'm not supposed to like you. And all the flirting and being around you all the time...is not making things easier."

Callie said nothing.

Erica spoke again.

"I'm sorry Callie. Why don't we try pulling back just a little, try to focus on the kids and not each other for awhile? We'll stop the teasing and just pull back a little. That should allow me to put the things going on with me to the side."

"That's what you want? That would make you feel more comfortable?"

"Yes. I need the teasing to stop if I'm going to be able to be your friend."

"What if I said I liked you too?"

"I know you like me, but when a lesbian says that and when a straight woman says that it means something slightly different," said Erica with a chuckle. "Just let me work this out," she pleaded.

"You aren't trying to get rid of me?" asked Callie still staring straight ahead.

"No, I wouldn't do that. I'm sorry Callie. I know if things were different, if I was a different person we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Okay," said Callie. "No more teasing. I can do that. Am I supposed to stop... everything? I'm kind of a touchy feely person."

"I've noticed," said Erica smiling.

"So, I mean, is it like completely hands off?"

"No, not completely hands off. Can we just not do the teasing thing? You know, no more sexy nightgowns?"

"Okay. I can handle that."

They were both silent. Finally Callie put her own cup in the sink.

"I guess we should get to bed," she said turning around at the sink. "Oh and I am taking your bed." She gave Erica one last smile before heading for the stairs leaving an exhausted Erica in the kitchen.

* * *

Callie lay in Erica's bed contemplating the conversation they had just had. It hadn't made sense to her and it still didn't, but she had not been ready to deal with Erica's honest declarations that she liked her. She thought she was ready. She had made coffee in anticipation that they would talk about what was happening between them. But then Erica had jumped into warp speed or something talking about how they resembled a family and how things would change when Callie found someone and she lost her nerve.

She had made one last ditch effort at the end, telling Erica that she liked her. She had put it in the form of a question though and Erica hadn't taken it in the way Callie intended. Part of her had been relieved. She really wasn't really ready for that conversation yet.

Erica was right; she couldn't just react to this thing. She couldn't just sit around waiting and wanting for Erica to kiss her without giving thought to what that would mean for all of them. She wasn't gay and that had to mean that whatever she was contemplating with Erica would be fleeting. Maybe she was curious, maybe she was confused, but whatever the case, it was not something she should pursue. It wouldn't last. How could it? She wasn't gay.

She didn't know the first thing about being in a relationship with a woman She had never considered it before, it had never appealed to her, two women together. Would she even know what to do? Kissing was one thing, but getting more intimate, that would be scary. She let out a frustrated breath.

_Come on, Callie don't be stupid. _

She closed her eyes.

_It wouldn't be scary at all. You should know that. It's all you've been fantasizing about since you met her._

No, it wasn't that part that would be scary. It was the other parts, the happily ever after, the rest of their lives. She was a coward. She wasn't scared of Erica; she was scared of what everyone would think.

She wiped the tears that had somehow materialized on her face. This sucked. She would give Erica what she wanted. She would stop the teasing and blatant flirting. They both needed it to stop. Maybe Erica was right and they needed to stop acting like they were a happy family too. Maybe she just needed to start dating. She groaned. The idea had no appeal for her. It hadn't for awhile. Even before she had met Erica, she had dreaded dating. She preferred the company of her daughter and lately she just preferred hanging out with Lucas and Erica. No, she would hold off on the dating.

She turned over and brought a stray pillow closer to her, hugging it to her body. It was impossible not to smell Erica's unique scent on it and she reveled in that. They would get through this. She was sure of it. They just needed to stop acting on their attraction. That was all. In time, the attraction would fade and they could go back to being just friends. She sighed, unsure if that was even possible, how do you _stop_ being attracted to someone?

* * *

Continued in Chapter 10 - Coming soon: Addison comes for a visit


	10. Chapter 10

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 10)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

_Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however._

**Author's Note:** Hopefully some of you are still with me. I promise these two will eventually kiss. Thanks for all the feedback.

Chapter 10

Addison Montgomery was perplexed. She had been excited about her one day trip to Seattle Grace, had relished the opportunity to return to the quirky hospital and be back in a space where she was comfortable. Los Angeles was good and she was enjoying her time there, but she still felt out of place, as if everything was not clicking for her yet. But everything seemed so different at Seattle Grace. She had come back at the request of the Chief of Surgery. He had yet to find a replacement for her. She didn't think he had been looking very hard, holding out hope that he could convince her to return. She was sure that was part of the reason he had asked her to come. The other reason of course was to actually perform a surgery. It was a good plan she had to admit, to bring her back, and remind her of why she had genuinely liked being here. She knew it was difficult to avoid getting caught up in this place again, which is why she had limited her trip to one day. He had one day to do the impossible: convince her to come back.

For the most part, she was happy to be back and had spent her free time observing her old colleagues, their comings and goings, their dramas and interactions. She had expected to ease back into the familiarity of the hospital easily. Instead she found herself more and more confused as the day progressed. Leaving Seattle Grace had been tough, but she had made the right decision in leaving. There was nothing for her here anymore. She had failed to win back her husband, Sloan had never really been an option, and frankly there was no one there worth staying for. She had regretted having to leave Callie, but had felt the need to move on, to move forward and leave her past behind. Seattle Grace had been her last ditch effort to get some of her past back, but the endeavor had just caused too much heartache - for herself, Derek and even Meredith who she had tried to hate, but found much to her annoyance she could not.

Callie had been the only bright spot of Addison's time at Grace. The fifth year resident was unlike any of the other residents. She was mature seasoned by the struggles she had experienced as a single mom, but had not lost her youthful charm. She was still fun and funny. She was brilliant without being snobby about it and she was just a great person to talk to. But even Callie had changed on her. Not in a bad way. In fact in a very good way, but she had definitely changed.

Callie seemed more relaxed and carefree then when Addison had seen here last. When Addison had first met Callie, the resident seemed to feed off of stress. It had amazed her how much Callie went out of her way to create more stress for herself, but Addison figured that she probably craved it. She hired a not entirely reliable nanny for Allie, which caused her worry over childcare. She had opted to be a surgeon which by anyone's standards was a tougher and more competitive area than general medicine. She was enrolled in one of the tougher programs which again, did not make Callie's life any easier. No, Callie seemed to like to make her life just a little more complicated than it needed to be.

But now she seemed to have eased into her role as one of the top residents at the hospital. She had seen Bailey and Callie battle it out for that top spot back and forth and in the end, amazingly, they had both won as Webber finally recognized that they had different strengths, both of which were an asset to the program. Bailey was a manager at heart and he needed to utilize her in that capacity. Callie was a surgeon through and through. She could be developed into a leader and manager, but she was a surgeon first and she was a great teacher. She didn't know what Webber's plans were for Callie, but he had some. She had seen the gleam in his eyes when she had asked if he knew whether Callie would apply for an attending position when her residency finished.

But the most perplexing development had been her friendship with Erica Hahn. Callie had been all bubbly excitement that Addison meet her new friend and Erica had not disappointed. Erica was as impressive in person as she was on paper. She was nice too, which had surprised her, since Erica's reputation for being not nice had reached beyond the walls of Presbyterian. She had watched the two of them together and wondered if Erica was the source of Callie's good mood and more relaxed demeanor.

She turned onto Callie's street eager to begin her night. Seeing Allie would be good for her and Callie had mentioned that Erica would probably be joining them for dinner, so she would get to see more of their interactions.

She was bombarded as soon as the door opened. Allie had jumped into her arms instantly for a long hug.

"Oh my God, you look so big. You've grown so much." She hugged her tightly before walking with her into the living room. "I've missed you so much. There's no one in L.A. to draw me pictures."

"I can draw you pictures while you're here. Me and Lucas can draw. We can draw houses and some animals."

She turned to Callie who gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, dinner will be about 45 minutes," said Callie her hand going automatically to the head of the small child that had attached himself to her and was looking up at Addison.

"Lucas, this is my friend Addison. You can call her Addison or Dr. Montgomery."

His head swiveled up at Callie and then back to Addison.

"Do not call me Dr. Montgomery. I get that all day," said Addison.

"What does Allie call you?" he asked backing into Callie's legs and almost between them.

Addison looked at Allie. "Allie calls me Addy, so you can call me Addy too."

"Addison, this is Lucas, Erica's son," Callie finished the introductions.

"Hello Lucas. Is it okay if I call you Lucas?"

He nodded, but still did not move from between Callie's legs.

"She's nice," said Allie pushing against Addison. Addison got the non-verbal clue and set her down.

"What do you want us to draw, Addy?" she asked going over to stand next to Lucas who finally emerged from Callie's legs.

"Whatever you guys want. Houses, animals, something beautiful I can look at it in Los Angeles."

"Let's draw a cat, Lucas."

"Okay," he said as they both made their way to the living room and the little table that was already covered in paper and crayons.

"That'll keep them busy for awhile. Erica should be home in a bit," said Callie leading the way to the kitchen.

Addison raised an eyebrow. There it was again, that reference to home as if it was something they shared.

"Where is Erica's house?" she asked.

"Just across the street," answered Callie. "It is the most amazing thing that could have happened to us to have them living across the street. Childcare has become one hundred percent more manageable and convenient. Erica is probably the only doctor that actually schedules her work and for the most part can stick to it. She has pretty regular hours, except when she gets paged, which thankfully has only happened twice while she's had the kids."

"So what, do you share a nanny, babysitting duties?"

"Yeah," said Callie absently stirring pots. "Nell takes care of both kids, usually here, when we're at work, but I no longer have to pay for overnight care, which was killing me. Erica is home most nights, so the kids just stay with her. Allie has her own room at Erica's and everything, so it's not awkward."

The kids? Not Allie stays with her, but the kids stay with her? Addison was becoming more intrigued by the minute.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, Erica drops them off at school every morning. We usually just have breakfast over there. It's the only meal Erica can handle. I pick them up from school if I'm available. Nell does it when we're both at the hospital. I take care of dinner if I'm home. If not, Erica takes care of it, although I usually make sure there are leftovers, otherwise they'd eat chicken nuggets or Chinese take-out for dinner every night."

"That is quite the arrangement. So what happens when you're both available at night? Where do the kids sleep then?"

Callie made a face. "They just sleep at their own houses. What kind of question is that?"

"Sorry it just seems that the four of you spend an awful lot of time together at each other's houses."

"Well yeah, but it works. They're never that far away from home and they aren't with strangers."

"No, I think it's great, it's just an interesting arrangement. I've never seen anything like it." She paused. "What about dating? Does one of you agree to watch the kids for hot dates?"

Callie laughed. "Who has the time?" There was another pause in the conversation.

"It hasn't come up, actually. I'm sure we'll deal with it when it does. So what did you think of her? Pretty awesome, right?"

"Yes, she is very nice, completely competent, and very professional. A little on the harsh side in her dealings with people, but she was friendly to me."

"She seems harsh on the outside, but once you get to know her, she's a very loving person."

"Is she?"

"Yes, she's warm and funny and just cool. Didn't you like her?" Callie sounded worried.

"Yes, I did, I did. She certainly handles that little boys club better than anyone I've seen."

"Oh yeah," said Callie turning her attention back to their dinner.

"Lucas is a cute kid," said Addison. She had found the wine glasses and the wine and poured herself a glass.

"Are you kidding? He's adorable. He's so funny and really smart. I think he must get that from Erica's side of the family."

"How do they get along? Allie and Lucas I mean."

"God, like brother and sister. They fight sometimes but 5 minutes later they're crying for each other again. He looks out for her at school. She told me he shoved some kid who was bothering her."

"Aw that's cute. But maybe he, you know, likes her, not like a sister." Addison was testing a theory.

Callie made a face. "They're six and seven. I don't think so. Besides, she told me that he told that kid he shoved to stay away from his sister."

Callie was putzing around the kitchen, seeming distracted, so Addison tried another line of questioning, one she had been very curious about as the hours passed at Seattle Grace and she saw more and more of Callie and Erica's exchanges.

"How about you and Erica. You ever fight?"

Callie frowned at her. "No, not really. I have to remind her that she shouldn't let the kids create so much chaos every now and again, but other than that, no. You should see her house. She just lets them go nuts. Her only rule is that they are responsible for their stuff. She won't help them find anything. And she's serious. Lucas pitched a fit a few weeks ago because he lost his baseball cap. Whined about it for days. He finally found it under the couch. He's being a lot more careful since, so I guess there's something to the method. But it would drive me nuts from them to act like that here. They could do whatever they want in their rooms, but out here they have to pick up. I think that's why they like it better over there."

"Does Lucas have a room here too?"

"Kind of, this place isn't big as Erica's so the study kind of doubles as his room when he's here. That's where you'll be sleeping, by the way."

Callie continued to talk meandering from topic to topic, mostly about the hospital, occasionally she was sidelined by stories of Lucas and Allie. Erica seemed to be the only constant. She got mentioned in every story in some capacity.

Addison meanwhile was working out an idea. She had an inkling of what was going on here. All the references to home she had heard from Callie, which seemed to mean either Callie's house or Erica's. It was no longer Allie this, or Allie that, it was the kids. The familiarity, the casual touching that Addison had noticed. Callie didn't do that with anyone else, including Addison. She had seen the looks they gave each other, the way Callie's eyes lit up when she talked about Erica.

The idea had first occurred to her as she saw them walk away from her this morning at the hospital. She had been talking to Erica, enjoying her talk with her when Callie had walked up. She was flashing a smile that Addison wasn't sure she'd seen before. She had bumped Erica playfully, their eyes had lingered a little, and their bodies had leaned into each other as they shared some inside joke. Despite being very glad to see Addison, Callie did not hesitate to join Erica when Erica invited her to wherever she was going. And finally Callie's arm hooking itself to Erica's shoulder as they walked down the hall still laughing had caused her to ponder the nature of their relationship.

Now she had an idea of what was going on. She was happy for Callie. It was a little surprising. Callie had not shown inclinations like that before, at least none that Addison knew about, but they seemed happy. She poured another glass of wine and was about to comment on the relationship when she heard a commotion coming from the living room.

"Don't climb over the furniture," yelled Callie as she walked to the wide doorway which offered a good view of the open room that served as the living room and dining room. Addison turned in time to see Lucas take the shortest route to the door by climbing over the couch.

"Sorry Aunt Cal," he said landing on the other side. The door opened seconds before he could reach it.

"You're going to have to be faster than that to beat me to the door kiddo."

"I was so close," he said jumping into Erica's arms.

Addison got up, wanting a front row seat to this little scene. She wanted to see exactly how this interesting family greeted each other. She watched Lucas get tossed in the air and kissed. She saw Erica turn him upside down and dump him playfully on the couch before swooping up Allie and repeating her actions. Both kids were on the couch laughing by the time Callie greeted Erica with a light peck on the cheek.

"Hey Addison beat you."

"Great," she said looking around and finding Addison observing them, wine glass in hand.

Addison lifted the glass in greeting and saw Erica wave. Then they were talking in soft whispers. She could tell there was nothing wrong. Erica's face was not worried or concerned, just a little serious. Callie seemed surprised by whatever Erica said to her. Erica must have realized it because she reached for Callie, rubbing her arm to ease whatever worry had cropped up. Callie stepped closer to her, lowering her voice even further and now she did look concerned. A few more words were exchanged and Callie was smiling. Erica returned the smile before starting to remove her jacket.

If Addison wasn't mistaken this could prove to be an interesting night.

* * *

Erica waved at Addison before turning to Callie.

"Listen, you probably want to have a night on your own with Addison. I'll just grab Lucas. I'll take Allie too if you want to have a girlfriend's night or something. I can even pick her up later if the three of you want to have dinner first instead.

Callie frowned. "No. I um...I thought we'd all have dinner. Do you not want to stay?"

Erica took a breath. "Don't be silly," she said rubbing Callie's arm. "Of course I do, but I'll understand if you just want to spend some time with Addison."

Callie stepped closer causing the hand rubbing her arm to settle on her waist instead.

"I do, but that doesn't mean I want you to leave. Can't I have you both?" she said smiling.

Erica smiled right back. "I guess you can," she answered starting to remove her jacket.

Callie helped her tossing it on the couch on top of the kids still lying on the couch, limbs and bodies every which way having a discussion about whether worms turned into snakes. She started walking back to the kitchen

"Allie, Lucas, wash your hands. It's almost dinner time," she said as she passed them on the couch.

Lucas's head popped up. "But I washed them when I went to the bathroom," he whined.

"Did you not hear her?" said Erica lifting him off the couch by both hands. "Up. Go. Bathroom. Hands."

Allie took off shouting "race you!"

Lucas went running after shouting "cheater, cheater," as he went.

Erica shook her head and walked toward the kitchen. Addison was still watching her.

"Do you want a couple of kids? I can sell them cheap," she asked playfully.

"Yes, I would gladly take those two off your hands. They're adorable," said Addison.

They both walked into the kitchen, Erica heading automatically for the sink to wash her own hands.

"You'll change your mind when we make you clean up the bathroom when they're done."

Addison could hear the sound of running water mixed with yells and laughter in the distance.

"Maybe," she said taking another sip of her drink.

She watched and listened, raising an eyebrow when Callie hooked her fingers into Erica's pants and pulled her closer.

"Taste this," she said holding a large spoon up to Erica's mouth. Their eyes met and did that lingering thing again before Erica tasted.

"Wow. That's fantastic Callie."

"Thank you," said Callie batting her eyes.

They were cute together. She was just about to ask how long they'd been together when she felt a rush of air on her legs. Two small people barreled through the kitchen. Lucas slammed into Callie's legs while Allie crashed into Erica.

"I won," they both shouted.

"Hey, guys, no running in the kitchen," said Erica, who Addison was sure was trying to sound stern, but it was devoid of all the cold harshness she had seen Erica unload on interns, residents, and attendings alike at the hospital.

"Sorry," grumbled Lucas and Allie.

"Come on, Addison's going to help you set the table," she said getting out dishes.

"Oh okay, I can do that," said Addison surprised but putting down her drink and taking the dishes from Erica. She walked out two kids dragging their feet behind her.

* * *

Erica looked at Callie stirring the marinara sauce she had made. She crossed her arms at her chest and once again wished things were different. They had stopped the outright teasing, but the distance thing had never really stuck and Erica found that while she hadn't seen Callie in that sexy nightgown since the slumber party, the new closeness they seemed to be establishing was making her crazier than the wild fantasies of kissing Callie up against a wall. Being like this with Callie was not really good for her. It made her want things. Like this very moment she wanted to walk up to Callie from behind, wrap her arms around that beautiful body and put her lips on Callie's neck. She wanted Callie to lean back into her exposing her neck and reach up to bring Erica's head closer.

She felt a pair of hands on her stomach, pulling her out of her fantasy. Callie had always done that, settling her hands on Erica's midsection, holding her in place.

"You okay?" she heard Callie say.

"Yeah," she answered bringing a hand to her temple and rubbing. "Sorry, I think I just wandered for a bit."

"Well wherever you went, it must have been intense," said Callie seeking Erica's eyes.

Callie liked doing that a lot too and try as she might, once those eyes found her, Erica was held transfixed, cemented where she stood, unable to turn away. It was getting harder to hide the sexual energy that was dancing just inside Erica's eyes, hard to hide her physical reaction to Callie and Callie's closeness. Part of her didn't want to hide it, longed to just let loose the passion she felt, but she held back. Callie was straight. They had talked about this. It had been decided. They were friends, nothing more. If there was even a remote chance Callie would have acted on it already. After all, she knew Erica was attracted to her. Erica had told her that. No, Callie was straight and only a friend.

But today, right now, Callie was in her space, touching her, looking at her with those deep feeling brown eyes and Erica was staring back trying to think of something to say; something that would make Callie back off, remove herself and her hands and eyes and put them elsewhere. But it had to be something light, something funny, something that would make her back off, but not recoil. Erica could not stand the idea of Callie recoiling from her.

"Probably just tired, sorry."

That did not achieve the desired result. Instead Callie moved closer and put a hand to Erica's forehead. Erica closed her eyes involuntarily.

"Maybe you're getting sick," said Callie.

"I never get sick," she said cursing herself for enjoying Callie's touch, the movement, the closeness all of it, no matter how innocent it was, she enjoyed it like Marianne enjoyed Shakespeare's sonnets being read by Willoughby.

"No fever," said Callie removing her hand, but not herself.

Erica opened her eyes. This close it was hard to not focus on Callie's lips. Erica licked her own lips and knew she was in trouble the moment her eyes flicked upwards from those lips to Callie's eyes. She knew Callie had been watching her, knew she had revealed too much in those few seconds. She expected Callie to push her away or at the very least step back, be disappointed that Erica could not seem to control her most base reactions. But Callie just stared right back, almost daring her to act, to move forward, to lean her head just a little closer. And it was working because somehow they were closer and Erica was looking for signs of panic, disgust, fear, anything that would halt her forward motion. She was afraid to swallow, afraid this was one of her fantasies again, but the breath she felt on her face was not her own. Unbelievably they continued moving at a snail's pace toward each other.

"Addy says we need more forks," said Allie bouncing into the kitchen.

That did it. They separated like pins in a bowling alley. Callie turned to her daughter almost spinning on the spot.

"What do you need?" she asked clearing her throat.

"Forks for big people," answered Allie.

Erica walked out of the kitchen and headed for the bathroom. She smiled weakly at Addison who gave her a questioning look.

"Headache," she offered by way of explanation.

She entered the bathroom, closed the door quickly behind her and leaned against it. After a few seconds, she walked over to the sink and splashed her face with cold water wanting to drive back the flush in her face. She had almost kissed Callie. She leaned back against the door. She had lied about the headache, but felt one developing, the pain inching its way to the forefront. She had to face Callie in a few minutes and that certainly would accelerate the pain. She went to the medicine cabinet and pulled out Advil. She would try to head it off, at least dull the pain for awhile. She popped two pills and swallowed. She had to go back out there and she did not want to. She took a few deep breaths, tried to get her face under control and walked out.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 11 where Addison lays it out for Callie


	11. Chapter 11

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 11)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

_Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however._

**Author's Note:** Callie's gets a little push from an old friend.

Chapter 11

The little red numbers switched dramatically from 11:59 to 12:00. Erica was still awake. Lucas was asleep next to her. She had felt the need to indulge him a little and let him sleep with her tonight. Actually, she had wanted it. She felt like she was coming undone and he had been the stabilizing force in her life for the last eight months, so she needed him close tonight.

She had almost kissed Callie tonight. What would have happened if Allie hadn't walked in? She had fleeting images that Callie would kiss her back, that Callie would tell her she had wanted this as much as Erica did. Ha! Fat chance. Callie was straight and probably a bit confused right now.

They had established a routine that made sense and that ensured that the kids were with one of them when not in school for good chunks of time. It worked. But the routine had turned into something else, some weird family unit. She saw it in herself and Lucas. Lucas no longer asked if Allie was coming over for breakfast. He assumed she'd be there every morning. They did everything together and Erica had noted that both she and Callie had stopped asking each other on outings long ago. Instead they planned them together. Despite what she had told Callie, that they needed to step back and stop acting like they were a family unit, it had happened anyway.

She and Callie had not talked about what had almost happened in the kitchen and she had no plans to bring it up. Scenarios of lesbian vampires seducing women into their evil ways were lurking in her brain somewhere. She didn't want to be accused of recruiting or seducing or anything. If Callie wanted to, she could bring it up. She thought about their night. The dinner had been awkward for her. She really hadn't known what to say, so mired in her own drama, so she let the conversation float around her. But she had noticed Addison watching her and then slowly moving her eyes to Callie. She had done it all night with this perplexed look on her face, like she was working out a puzzle or something.

She had seen the same look as her and Lucas had said their goodbyes. She had been anxious to leave, still feeling awkward and unsure about the kitchen incident, even though Callie had seemed to return to normal after dinner, not hesitating to lay a hand at Erica's back as they passed in the hall.

_Lucas was saying goodnight to Allie in the hallway outside her room as Erica struggled to put a jacket on him._

_"Goodnight dunderhead," he said laughing._

_"Hey, no name calling."_

_"It's not a bad name," he protested._

_"I don't care, no name calling. Go say goodnight and apologize."_

_He raced into the room as Allie jumped into her bed._

_"Night Al. You're not a dunderhead."_

_"What's a dunderhead?" she asked. _

_He shrugged before hugging her in a ridiculously fierce way. "Night" he said again and then was off shouting, "Aunt Cal, I'm ready to say goodnight."_

_Addison had been lingering in the hallway watching them. Erica walked into Allie's room to see Allie already under the covers. _

_"Goodnight princess," said Erica laying a kiss on her head. "And don't let anyone call you names, not even Lucas, okay?"_

_Allie smiled a sleepy smile as she lay down. "Night Mom, I mean Aunt Erica."_

_"Night sweetie." Erica tucked her in, gave her one last kiss, patted the small body and got up. Addison had been standing in the doorway._

_They walked out together. "You're really good with her."_

_Erica gave her a confused look. "No, she's easy. She's really good with me."_

_They descended the stairs to see Lucas on Callie's lap. Callie was talking to him softly. He was smiling. As Erica landed on the last step, she saw Callie give him one last squeeze, before saying, "Goodnight, little man. See you tomorrow."_

_"Okay, Goodnight Aunt Cal, love you."_

_"Love you too, baby."_

_He made his way to the door shyly but paused briefly to hug Addison's legs as he passed._

_"Addison, it was nice to finally meet you," Erica said as she extended her hand._

_"Likewise," said Addison ignoring the hand and pulling Erica into a hug._

_"Don't stay up too late," said Erica over her shoulder as she made her way to the door._

_"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked Callie standing up._

_Erica turned, "What?"_

_Callie walked up to her, outstretched arms winding themselves gently around Erica as she hugged her. "Goodnight Erica."_

_It was a friendly hug so Erica had gone with it. She smiled. "Goodnight Callie."_

It had almost seemed like they were okay again. She hoped they would still be okay tomorrow.

* * *

Addison sat in Callie's living room drinking cafe con leche and thinking about her night. Dinner had been slightly awkward. Erica and Callie had been mostly silent at the onset, while the kids kept up animated discussions throughout dinner. After a while, Callie seemed to come to life, but Erica had remained subdued.

Erica had left with Lucas after clean-up and a somewhat convoluted goodnight ritual between the four of them. It was a tad strange, their routine. Addison had joined Callie as she got the kids ready for bed while Erica did the after dinner clean-up in the kitchen. Even though Lucas was sleeping across the street, he changed into pajamas and brushed his teeth at Callie's. Callie claimed it saved everyone time, but Addison found it bizarre.

Now Callie was seated next to her. They had exhausted the topics of Derek and Meredith, Mark, kids and the ups and downs of Addison's life in Los Angeles. Addison had not failed to notice that Callie had slipped back into a more pensive mode. Sitting there with no other topics left to discuss, Addison took the proverbial bull by the horns and just asked.

"What is going on with you and Erica?"

Callie's head snapped to her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean are you a couple?"

Callie's eyes widened. "What? Where would you get that idea?" She got up and started pacing. "We are not a couple. I'm not gay. Erica's gay, but I'm not, so no, we are not a couple. We're just good friends."

Addison leaned forward resting her arms on her crossed legs. "Okay, okay, calm down. I just thought, well you act like a couple, a really happy couple."

Callie sat down abruptly. "Well we're not," she said crossing her arms.

"Why not?"

Callie laughed for a moment and muttered "I'm not exactly sure," before her face changed and a frown emerged where there had been laughter. "Well there is the whole not being gay thing."

Addison just stared at her. "But you have thought about it?" she asked.

Callie closed her eyes and said nothing.

"You have, haven't you? Of course you have. You should see what I see when I look at you two."

"What do you see?" asked Callie her eyes still closed.

"I see two people who enjoy each other, are attracted to each other, obviously care a lot about each other, and are raising two great kids together. I see a happy couple."

"Yeah that's what I see too."

Addison leaned back.

"So why hasn't it happened? Has Erica made any advances?"

"Kind of I guess," Callie let out a breath. "We um...almost kissed in the kitchen earlier."

"You almost kissed? Today? And I missed it?"

Callie groaned picking up a pillow from the couch and putting it over her face. After burying her head in it for a few seconds she put it down.

"There've been other times too. At the beginning when we were becoming friends, we flirted all the time. There was a possibility then, but I chickened out and she asked me to stop the flirting and teasing. What's going on with me Addison? We're friends, but… There are times when she looks at me and I know she's seeing me differently than you or Christina see me." Callie turned her head. "Sometimes she looks at me and I feel like the sexiest thing in the room. If Allie hadn't come in today, I would have kissed her. What does that mean? God, it's so crazy. She is so amazing but...I'm not gay. This whole thing freaks me out."

"She freaks you out?"

"No not her, this thing. She's awesome, but the situation freaks me out. I just don't know what to feel. I like her a lot. I'm attracted to her, almost from the moment we met I was attracted, but Addy I'm not gay. I'm not."

"So you're attracted to a woman, you like her; you're practically raising two children together. She obviously adores you and Allie. And the problem is?"

"I'm not gay."

"So that means you don't want to get involved with her, because you're not gay?"

"Shouldn't it?"

"Sure, especially if you're not attracted to her, but you're not telling me that. You're telling me you are attracted to her."

Callie groaned again. "I don't want to get involved with my best friend just to have it end badly because I'm not gay. The last time I got involved with a friend it ended badly and this would be worse. She's my best friend Addy, I can't lose her."

"Is this the same as the George thing? Does it feel the same?" asked Addison.

"No it doesn't feel the same, but it shouldn't right? I mean he was a guy, Erica's a woman."

"Aren't there more differences than that between them?"

"Well, of course, but I was friends with George too and then we got involved and look how well that ended."

"You broke up with George because he cheated on you and because he told you he didn't want a ready made family. I hate to burst your bubble, but you and Erica seemed to have skipped the romance and just made this weird little family together already."

"We are not weird," said Callie. "We didn't skip the romance. We're just friends. We just worked out an arrangement that works for both of us."

Addison looked at her with both eyebrows raised. "You're kidding, right? You just told me you almost kissed. Besides, this is not an arrangement. This is a family."

"It's a routine," Callie protested.

Addison laughed. "Do you kiss her every time she comes 'home' as part of a routine?" she asked putting air quotes around the word home.

Callie opened her mouth to speak and then stopped.

"That's what I thought," said Addison. "Do you even realize that you've stopped referring to your child individually? It's not Allie anymore, it's the kids."

"Wait, back up, I kissed you when you came in. That's not weird, just friendly."

"Yeah, but you never see me. You see Erica everyday. You see her here and at the hospital. You did not greet me like that when I lived here and saw you everyday. Do you kiss Christina every time you see her?"

"Not fair, Christina doesn't even like to be touched."

"You have a point there, but I think my original statement stands. Callie the two of you have made a family here, a good, very happy little family. With two homes, which is weird and you kind of act like a couple, but aren't and that's a little weird too, but it's a home. Those kids don't act like they live in separate homes. They act like these two houses are their home."

Callie thought about that.

"Let me ask you something," said Addison. "Is that the only thing stopping you, that you think you're not gay?"

"I'm not gay," said Callie. "But yes, that's the only reason, but it's a pretty big important one, don't you think? I can't afford to experiment Addison. I have a kid to think about and Erica's my best friend. Neither one of us can afford to just experiment with each other."

"I think you're being unfair."

"Unfair? To who?"

"To Erica, to the both of you really. You're not even giving her a chance based on a technicality."

"It's not a technicality. It's _the_ thing that...defines the whole thing."

"She likes you. You know that, right? This whole not being gay thing isn't her issue, it's yours. She'll wait for awhile to see if you decide she's worth it, but eventually, things can't remain like they are. You're fooling yourself if you think you can go on like this, pretending to play house with Erica. She's going to want the real thing eventually. Long lingering looks like I was seeing all day won't be enough. It can't be. She won't wait for you forever Callie."

"I know she likes me, but she's not waiting for me at all. She knows I'm straight. It's just not possible."

"But you just said you were attracted to her, you almost kissed her. You like her Callie. Those lingering looks aren't one-sided. Look around you. You are building a life with this woman and her child. The only thing missing is a physical relationship and you're on the edge of that now. You told me you almost kissed her and that you would have if Allie hadn't walked in. Why is it so hard to just move that little bit?"

"Yes, I'm attracted to her, but what if....what if I don't like it. What if kissing her would feel weird and icky."

Addison laughed. "Do you really think kissing a woman is that different than kissing a man? I mean enough to be icky?"

Callie's eyes widened. "Are you speaking from experience?" she asked somewhat shocked.

"There may have been a girl in college."

"Oh my God! I did not know this about you. Spill. What happened? Did you love her? Did you, you know..."

"Yes, I did love her and not that it's any of your business, but yes we did."

Suddenly Callie sat straight up. "What was it like?"

"It was good, better than good. Different than with a guy, but very good. Ultimately things didn't work out. I've never been attracted to another woman, so for me it was just the one girl I was attracted to. See, I'm not gay and I still managed to have a relationship with a woman."

"Yeah, but it didn't work out."

"Yes, but it wasn't because I wasn't gay. It just didn't, just like me and Derek didn't work out. Sexuality is a little more fluid than are you or aren't you, Callie."

Callie was intrigued. "But what if we try it and we don't like it or I don't like it and it messes up our friendship?"

Feeling like she had made some progress, Addison grabbed Callie's hands and relaxed into the cushions.

"I love you, so I am going to be honest. Whether you act on this or not, things are going to change. I was serious. Erica likes you. I think she might even be in love with you - not to freak you out or anything. But eventually this friendship won't be enough for her and she will look for someone else. Maybe that's ultimately what will happen anyway, but I want you to think about how you would feel if suddenly there were three parents in this household. Would you be okay if it wasn't you greeting Erica at the door with a kiss, if suddenly Erica found someone who could make a marinara sauce as good as yours? Would you want to continue this arrangement, if Erica was with someone?"

Callie's palms were sweaty. She knew what Addison was getting at with her little scenario and it was working because those images were not welcome in her head. She did not want to see Erica with someone else. She didn't want to imagine that. But she wasn't ready to imagine them together either, despite the almost kiss that evening. She had wanted Erica to kiss her, but she was not ready emotionally. She wasn't ready to deal with the implications of being in a relationship with a woman.

"How long do I think I have?" she asked playfully.

Addison let go of her hand and put an arm around her. "Well, I'd say a lot of time actually, unless she meets someone tomorrow. She seems very into you and not especially inclined to give that up anytime soon. Did you two talk about what happened in the kitchen at all?"

"No, I practically jumped out of my skin when Allie walked in. Erica left."

"I thought something had happened. She looked odd when she passed through the dining room on her way to the bathroom. Are you going to talk to her about it?"

"I don't know. I was kind of hoping she would bring it up."

"She might not. She might be scared that you'll think she's coming on strong. She might just wait and see what you do."

"Great, two non-actors."

"Well maybe you should take the initiative."

"How do you propose I do that, just walk up to her and kiss her?" mocked Callie.

"Why not?" said Addison. "It would certainly answer some questions."

"I think I'll stick to just talking. I don't want to attack her or anything."

"Somehow I don't think she would think you were attacking her," smiled Addison.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 12 - Coming up next – Meet Gretchen Samuels


	12. Chapter 12

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 12)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note:** Someone else thinks Erica is hot and sexy too…

Chapter 12

_Three days since the almost kiss…_

It had been three days since Callie's conversation with Addison. Three days that had passed in relative normalcy. Callie had been trying to work up the courage to have a conversation with Erica, a prospect that made her insides feel like jelly. She knew she had to do it, especially since their interactions, or rather Erica's, had been different since their almost kiss. The changes were subtle, but Callie had felt them instinctively. Erica hadn't outright rejected Callie, but she pulled away from Callie a lot more and Callie felt her holding back.

Callie had noticed the change immediately. She noticed that Erica didn't let her linger when they touched. It wasn't harsh or jerky. Every time Callie placed her hands anywhere on Erica's body, she would find those hands wrapped in Erica's and then feel a friendly squeeze, before Erica moved away slowly. It was almost a natural movement, as if she had been planning to move all along and the action had nothing to do with Callie's advances. Erica had almost stopped initiating the casual touching that had been so much a part of their interactions at work and home. There was no more hand at her back as Erica stepped around her or when they were walking down the hall. Erica no longer bumped her playfully. She wasn't holding back entirely. They still seemed to gravitate towards each other, often standing close together. They still smiled at each other in the hallways at work frequently and for no reason.

Their normal routine at home remained the same. They still had meals together. They had even planned an outing to a local fair and Erica allowed Callie to greet her with a light kiss as usual. Callie had contemplated Addison's suggestion that she forego the friendly kiss on the cheek and just kiss her passionately upon greeting her one of these days, but it wasn't realistic. The kids were usually around and she was uncomfortable with them being exposed to a side of their relationship they wouldn't understand. Pondering Erica's behavior however, had made Callie nervous and hesitant about talking to her and so she was in a state of limbo.

She was in the resident's lounge contemplating all of this as she sipped her coffee, when the door was opened forcefully and someone stormed in muttering.

"Stupid, usurping little thief."

It was Yang. Callie put her own thoughts aside and turned her attention to Christina.

"What are you muttering about?"

"That damn new resident from Presbyterian."

"We got a new resident?" asked Callie.

"Transfer from Presbyterian. She's a fifth year cardio resident. Since Webber's only letting fifth year residents specialize, Hahn thought she needed more help in cardio, but we don't need some little usurper to come in and take everything over."

Callie turned to the charts she had brought in with her that had not managed to hold her attention before and started on them again, letting Christina work herself out. She found this was the most effective method for dealing with Christina.

"Erica is not going to let her take over," Callie said easily.

"Yeah, well I just spent three hours watching her and Hahn while I sat back like some damn intern doing nothing. She's bogarding my surgeries."

"Maybe Erica just wanted to see how she works. She already knows you."

"She's from Presbyterian. Hahn already knows how she works. She asked for her special."

"I'm sure you'll get your surgery time Christina."

"Damn little thief," Christina continued to mutter.

Callie chuckled.

The door opened again. Callie and Christina both looked up as a young tall blonde walked in wearing the maroon colored scrubs worn at Presbyterian. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was sporting a huge grin.

"Hey Yang, you disappeared so fast after that procedure. Wasn't that awesome?" The blonde went to the vending machine pushing the button for Coke forcefully. She turned as she waited for it to fall, smiling widely.

"Hey, I'm Gretchen Samuels, new cardio resident," she said to Callie as she leaned against the soda machine.

"Dr. Callie Torres, Ortho," said Callie extending her hand and trying not to cringe at how peppy this new resident sounded.

"Oh hey, Torres, Erica's told me all about you. Claims you're some sort of bone genius." She shook Callie's hand before turning to retrieve her beverage. "That surgery was awesome wasn't it Yang? Erica has the best freaking hands I've ever seen. She's just gotten better since I saw her last."

Callie squirmed a little. This woman seemed to be claiming a familiarity with Erica that she wasn't sure she was comfortable with.

"God I'd love to see what else those hands can do," she said as she opened her soda. Yang dropped the pencil she had been twirling nervously. Callie stared at her in shock.

"Hey, she's your boss. Show a little respect," said Callie sounding just as harsh as Erica did.

"Whoa, don't get your panties all twisted. Erica and I go way back. She ever tell you how we met?"

"She hasn't told me anything about you." Callie was angry and her anger was showing.

"Swear to god true story. The night before I started my internship I tried to pick up this woman in a bar. Hot sexy body, nice long hair that you just want to tangle your hands in. She was giving me absolutely no play..." she paused to take a drink.

Callie had a feeling she knew where this was going and by the disgusted look on Yang's face, she knew as well. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know the end of this story.

"I was dying, but the more she rejected me the more I wanted her. Finally she just got right up in my face and told me she would cut my heart out with a spoon and enjoy every second of it if I didn't walk away. I almost melted into a puddle. Anyway the next..."

"The next day you found out she was your boss. We've heard it before, except better since Meredith and Derek actually hooked up," blurted Christina.

"How did you…what?" asked Gretchen confused.

"Been there done that," said Callie. "That happened to someone here. It's not a unique story."

Callie was furiously scribbling. Nope, not one bit did she like this new woman, who was clearly gay and obviously still had the hots for Erica.

* * *

_Four days since the almost kiss…_

Only Erica could manage to make a polka dotted surgical cap look cute, thought Callie as she walked into the scrub room. Erica was already lathered up from the elbows down. She was meticulously scrubbing her finders with a small brush. Callie drank in the bright smile Erica sent her way in response to her casual "Hey," but it became subdued almost immediately as Erica looked away. Callie walked to the sink and stood next to her, triggering the automatic faucet with her hands and leaning in to rinse and begin her own cleansing process.

"How's it going? Tough surgery today?" she asked wanting to know what had taken away that lovely smile that had first met her.

"Valve replacement. Nothing too complicated," said Erica as she carefully rinsed off the soap, her focus on her hands as they moved under the rush of water.

Callie frowned as she reached for the soap dispenser. She wanted to know why Erica was being so distant with her. Usually Erica got lost in herself in preparation for a complicated surgery, but while all heart surgeries were risky and involved complexity, this was a simpler procedure. A valve replacement surgery would not create this type of mood.

"Why the long face?" she asked.

"What?" said Erica finally looking at her.

Callie smiled tilting her head just slightly. "Everything okay?" she inquired.

This time she got a smile in return as Erica answered her.

"Sure. Just thinking I guess."

"Do you ever stop thinking?" asked Callie laughing softly.

Erica chuckled. "Sometimes, but it usually gets dangerous, so I try not to," she said in a self-deprecating manner. "How about you?" she added. "What are you doing today?"

"Knee replacement," said Callie. "It should be fun."

"Sounds boring," said Erica.

And just like that Erica seemed to step back into the familiar game they played, insulting their respective fields lightheartedly. Callie smiled glad to see signs of her old friend still lurking around. She responded to Erica's quip by bumping her hip, a move Erica had not been expecting. She hadn't braced herself for it, so the bump sent her stumbling a bit. She glared at Callie.

"Not fair to go after me after I've scrubbed Torres."

Yes. This was the Erica she loved. Actually she loved all of Erica's disparate parts, but she had missed the playful side of her the last few days. This distance Erica was putting between them since their almost kiss had to stop.

"Promises, promises," said Callie teasing. "That's all you cardio geeks are good at. You're all talk, no grit."

Erica was watching her. She had put her hands back under the water after the hip check, but Callie knew she was essentially done scrubbing and rinsing. Callie was smirking at her when she saw it, that wicked glint and that evil little smile on Erica's face that caught Callie mid smirk and made her gulp.

"I'm a patient person Cal. When you least expect it, you will pay for the hip check."

Finally Erica removed her hands from the water and backed into OR2. Callie smiled, happy to have pulled Erica out of whatever place she was trying to isolate herself in. She heard the doors open and looked up. She frowned, her good mood displaced. Gretchen Samuels was rushing over to the sink.

"Torres," she acknowledged Callie as she hurriedly rinsed and reached for the soap.

"Samuels," answered Callie wanting to finish scrubbing quickly. "What are you doing today?" Callie asked trying for Erica's sake to be nice to the new resident.

"Valve replacement," she answered quickly.

"With Dr. Hahn?" asked Callie perplexed. Interns and residents were expected to be scrubbed and ready by the time the attending arrived. Gretchen was late.

"Yeah," she answered.

Callie raised an inquiring eyebrow and gave voice to her thoughts.

"You're late. Hahn's already in there," she said as a warning.

"Uh huh," answered Gretchen barely sparing Callie a glance.

"The attendings do not like residents showing up late to surgeries."

"Whatever. It's fine. Erica loves me."

Callie was getting annoyed. This woman was seriously delusional. She obviously thought she was closer to Erica than she was. Erica was closer to Callie than anyone else but Lucas right now and Erica had never mentioned a friendship with Gretchen. No, she was fairly certain she knew all the important people in Erica's life and Gretchen was not on that list.

"You know you should really show her more respect. You might want to start by calling her Dr. Hahn."

"Why? Me and Erica are...you wouldn't understand," answered Gretchen. "We have a connection."

Callie's heart rate picked up. She needed to get to her own surgery. Thankfully she was flying solo today with no attendings supervising the procedure. Her residents were already in the room waiting. But she needed to set Gretchen straight.

"Whatever connection you think you have is irrelevant. She's the head of your department and your boss. You should treat her as such."

Gretchen started laughing. "Yeah, right, Torres. Like you show your department head any respect. I've heard the stories."

"I don't call him Frank," said Callie as she shook her arms and hands of the excess water. She walked towards OR3 with raised hands and backed into the door still glaring at Gretchen.

* * *

The loud music usually pushed everything out. It was meant to mask the sound of bones breaking and splintering, crunching sounds that would make even the most hardened souls lose their lunch. But Callie also just liked the music. She liked it loud and raw and with a lot of bass. She liked feeling the bass in her blood. The music usually drove all her cares and worries away. She didn't know where these things went when she was in surgery, but for however many hours she was operating; everything faded from her mind and was just gone. But not today; today the annoyingly grating peppy voice of Gretchen Samuels was mixing in with the beat and bass, making her wince internally.

Every time the woman said Erica instead of Dr. Hahn, Callie felt a trickle of annoyance that would make her back stiffen. Every time she insinuated some special connection or closeness with Erica, Callie's temperature would rise, the heat following some natural path upward to Callie's head making her want to lash out irrationally at the woman. Thankfully, Callie had yet to see Erica and Gretchen interact. That thought made her wonder. How did they interact? Was Gretchen's talk, just talk as Callie suspected? Or was there some connection between the two of them? Callie didn't know what Gretchen was referring to by that phrasing, but she had jumped to the conclusion that the special connection was merely that they were both gay. She didn't think she could really take Gretchen being all touchy-feely-close with Erica.

Addison's warning had been echoing in her head for four days. _Erica won't wait forever._ That had been four days ago and now here was this annoying (and Callie only reluctantly admitted this) but attractive woman, who would not make Erica wait. She heard a question being yelled at her and turned back to her work, her residents, the loud music and the knee she was constructing, successfully pushing aside thoughts of Gretchen Samuels.

* * *

Callie was finished with her surgery an hour before Erica, but it was her first surgery of the day and she had a long shift ahead of her. Erica would be going home after her surgery and silly as it was, Callie was waiting around wanting to see her before she left. She was trying to be casual about it, but kept looking towards OR2 as she filled out charts. Finally the patient was wheeled out. Ten minutes later Erica walked out, Gretchen on her heels. Callie flashed her a smile.

"Hey! All done?" she asked Erica.

Erica had removed her cap and gown and was just in her dark blue scrubs. She walked over to the nurse's station where Callie stood.

"Yes," she said as she reached around Callie for some forms. She laid one hand on Callie's arm to steady herself as she reached. "Sorry," she said. Callie just smiled.

"Nothing to be sorry about it. Everything okay?" asked Callie

"Yes, it was pretty simple."

"Piece of cake for Erica here. They shouldn't even make her do those. Way beneath her skill level."

Gretchen.

Callie had forgotten that she was there. She looked at Erica who had retrieved her form and was now filling it out. Erica had moved down the counter, placing just a little distance between herself and Callie. Callie was waiting for some snarky comment from Erica in response to Gretchen's obvious brown-nosing, but Erica continued filling out her form, ignoring Gretchen's comment. Callie decided to ignore Gretchen as well, but she was feeling the need to...she didn't know how to describe it, this compulsion she was feeling to just touch Erica. She gave in, moving her body slightly so that their hips and arms came into contact.

"You look tired," she observed and could not resist turning slightly, placing a hand on Erica's arm and rubbing. Erica's arm was cold, which made Callie move closer and squeeze wanting to share her body heat with Erica. Erica stopped all movement. The pen stopped moving, she stopped breathing, everything just stopped. Callie should have moved away and at any other time she would have. She would have interpreted Erica's actions as a rejection or at least as discomfort, but today, this moment she felt an overwhelming need to get closer, to comfort instead of retreat.

"Erica, you're freezing," she said pulling Erica to stand in front of her as Callie began rubbing her bare arms up and down hoping the friction would warm her. Erica tilted her head looking at her. She had a strange expression on her face, perplexed and very much confused. It was not something one saw everyday, especially in this place, where Erica was sure and confident and never, ever let anyone see an ounce of anything less than complete control and self-assurance. Callie smiled at her and tilted her own head.

"Where's you lab coat?" she asked.

"I'll get it," she heard Gretchen's peppy over-eager voice say.

Callie didn't look Gretchen's way, didn't know if she had left to actually retrieve Erica's lab coat or if she was still standing there. She wondered briefly if people were staring at them, knowing it would bother Erica, but Erica seemed immobilized at the moment, letting Callie just do what she wanted as she stood there still looking perplexed. Callie wanted to hug her, she wanted to wrap her arms around this woman and feel her body warming up. She knew she couldn't give in to that desire, although she had been doing a horrible job of ignoring all the other desires that had cropped up in the last few minutes. The touching, the being in Erica's space, all of it were things Erica did not let happen at the hospital with anyone else. Callie usually got a pass on the standing too close rule, but Erica was very serious about being a professional at work. She wanted people to see the Doctor when she was here and not a woman, not a friend. Callie was pushing her and Erica was letting herself be pushed. Callie finally stopped the rubbing since it was making the desire to hug Erica impossible to ignore and let her hands slide down Erica's arms. Hugging was out of the question, but....

She grabbed Erica's hands and looked away. She just couldn't look into Erica's eyes anymore, couldn't take the confusion she was seeing, the fears and doubts, so unfamiliar to her in those baby blues. She searched the area for Gretchen confirming that Gretchen had indeed left.

"She's eager to please," she said and turned back to Erica.

Erica rolled her eyes, gave Callie's hands a long squeeze and let go, stepping away from her.

"She should be. She was late, so she basically got to watch me and Yang. Unfortunately, I had to let Yang go after a couple of hours. She was scheduled to scrub in with Bailey and some new peds surgeon."

She went back to her form, but looked up at Callie after a few seconds and muttered. "Thanks....for warming me up."

Callie smiled at her. "Anytime"

Addison was so right. Callie needed to do something or say something. Her stomach could not take much more of this uncontrollable flipping thing it kept doing. She glanced at the time.

"I guess I should get going," she said. And then because she had been doing it for awhile when she greeted Erica, remembered Erica's surprise when she had first done it, remembered the explanation she had been forced to give when she did it again, and because she could not resist the urge to touch her again. She went up to Erica, placed a hand at her waist and kissed her cheek lightly.

"Night," she said. "See you at home later," and then she left. Yup it was about time she added a goodbye kiss to their routine.

She turned as she walked wanting to see Erica's reaction. Erica was staring at her with that confused look again. It wasn't what Callie had been going for, but she guessed another explanation was in order. "Now you know you're really family," she offered by way of explanation. "When you get the patented Latina greeting and goodbye."

Callie smiled one last time as she turned and made her way back to her patients and work.

* * *

Erica was concentrating on the road as much as she could. It was raining and the temperature was dropping, which meant slick roads and possible skidding. She drove slowly partly in deference to the weather and in part because she wasn't in a hurry to get home. Not that she minded seeing the kids, hearing about their day, checking their homework, bath time and all the things in between that had become routine. It was relaxing in a way to have all of those things to do, to not have to think about work for a few hours and to just immerse herself in a more fun and somewhat simpler universe that only had Lucas and Allie and Callie in it.

But she was also going over the day's events and those of a few days earlier when she and Callie had almost kissed. She had been trying to keep some distance between them since, but it seemed the more she tried to maintain boundaries, to have a less confusing relationship with Callie, the more Callie pulled her into something that Erica couldn't explain. And it was getting to her at work now, which she did not like.

It was one thing to be stopped dead by one of Callie's flirty comments at home or while they were out, but it was quite another to have Callie touching her and even kissing her goodnight like she had done today at the hospital. The hospital was work and work people. It was not a place to hash out or even think about your personal life. It was the only thing she hated about Seattle Grace. People's personal lives were so out there for everyone to pick through that she wouldn't be surprised to find that the hospital had some sort of forum where all of their personal dramas were discussed.

It was disconcerting to her and even the people who were more guarded like Callie and Bailey couldn't completely escape people knowing intimate details about their lives. She hadn't wanted that and had done a pretty good job so far of keeping her personal life from the halls and lounges of Seattle Grace. People were aware that she had a son and that she was friends with Callie and Yang, but beyond that she doubted people knew much more. However, unless she was mistaken, people would have lots of questions about her and Callie after today.

It bothered her, but surprisingly the personal at work was less of an issue than her confusing, bewildering and crazy relationship with Callie. Wasn't it enough that she had come to terms with her developing feelings after the slumber party? She had thought that acknowledging that she was falling in love with Callie would make her more aware of herself and her interactions with Callie, would help her put up boundaries and walls against intimate touches. She thought she would be more able to keep things in check about herself if she knew what she was doing and what was going on, that she could somehow put up shields against Callie and prevent those feelings from getting out of control. Out of control was never good and if Erica knew anything, she knew how to keep people at bay and keep her emotions in check. In all her prior relationships she had been in control. She had decided who she would be involved with, for how long, what they could do and not do and ultimately when it ended. It was comfortable and safe to be in control. But with Callie that part of her ceased to function.

Callie broke through walls without even being aware she was doing it. Erica would resolve to keep her distance, to not initiate touches, to stop standing so close to Callie and to not let Callie's touches linger and then Callie would stand close and she seemed paralyzed to really stop her. Instead her heart would start beating rapidly, her skin would tingle and she would find herself wanting to keep Callie exactly where she was. She barely remembered the well reasoned arguments about distance and maintaining boundaries when Callie was standing so close or holding her hand. In those moments there was just Callie.

She remembered briefly her one attempt at breaking that wonderfully torturous little greeting ritual of Callie's. She had wanted to be nonchalant, to tell Callie that while her advances were not unwelcome, she should stop lest people get the wrong idea and by people she meant herself. She had wanted to say something light and unserious, but still a little flirty. She didn't want to hurt Callie's feelings. Instead she had ended up awkwardly asking about the whole kiss hello thing as if it was a foreign concept, stumbling over her words like the geek she was in college asking Nicole Warn out on a date, her first date with a girl.

And now Callie was saying goodbye like that too and doing it at the hospital? That was not going to help her get over these feelings she was having. The whole situation was crazy and Callie was only making her more insane. What was with the rubbing up and down of her arms? It took every ounce of will power not to kiss her right there. Deciding she needed to stop thinking about this if she wanted to arrive home in one piece, she instead let thoughts of actual work fill her mind.

Gretchen Samuels.

Gretchen Samuels was certainly not the same resident Erica had known at Presbyterian and that pissed Erica off. She didn't know what had happened to Gretchen in the two months since Erica left Presbyterian, but something had. She had shown up late for the last two surgeries she had scrubbed in on with Erica. She was making mistakes that no fifth year resident should be making and she seemed to think it was okay. Erica had laid out the rules for her when she brought her over and Gretchen had nodded in understanding. Erica had already yelled at her for being late for today's valve replacement. She hoped that would be the end of it because she needed Gretchen to work out. Webber had not been too keen on letting her come over to their program, but Erica had vouched for her, had told him Gretchen would be an asset and not a liability. It was one of her first decisions as department head and so far it wasn't working out. Maybe she would have another conversation with Gretchen about expectations. She mused on that for awhile as she pulled into her neighborhood anxious now to get home. Allie would be spending the night again since Callie would be arriving home after midnight.

She shook her head. Maybe she would feign sleep when Callie arrived instead of meeting her at the door like she usually did. She had always met her at the door from the very beginning, but Callie had a key now and could let herself in. They had achieved a level of comfort where Callie knew she didn't have to ask if she could stay the night if she wanted to. Callie had spent countless nights at her house already. Sometimes in the hide-a-bed in Allie's room, sometimes on the couch and sometimes when she was really tired she let Erica convince her to sleep in Erica's bed, while Erica took the couch or snuck into Lucas's room and his extra bed.

She turned onto her street. She knew she couldn't really do that. She liked meeting Callie when she got home. They would usually do coffee and talk for awhile before Callie decided whether to walk back to her house to sleep, although they had been having that discussion less these days. It usually turned into a matter of where in Erica's house she would sleep. She sighed as she pulled into her driveway. She needed to figure out a way of handling Callie and fast or she would end up kissing her. Maybe she needed to date. Maybe having someone else to think about would bring back her missing in action control.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 13 – Callie finally makes a damn decision


	13. Chapter 13

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 13)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note:** Callie finds Gretchen super annoying and somewhat inspiring…

Chapter 13

_5 Days after the almost kiss…_

Callie sat in the cafeteria with two warm cups of coffee in front of her, thinking about a conversation that was long overdue. She needed to talk to Erica. That fact however was the only constant about the whole situation. The when, where and how of said conversation plagued her, especially now that Erica seemed to be pulling away. Callie was trying to hang on, but her hold was getting tenuous.

Right now was the wrong time and place, but she couldn't really imagine a good time or place, so she sat waiting for Erica to show up, thinking about how to start. She wanted to have the conversation, had been nervously contemplating opening statements, impassioned speeches, and lyrical prose for days. Unfortunately her attempts at coming up with such an opening had only produced a collection of stuttering phrases, incomplete sentences, laced with mixed metaphors and decidedly un-flowery language. Perhaps now was not the best time.

She glanced at the door for the hundredth time. She had gotten two cups of hot coffee a few minutes ago and hoped Erica would arrive before they cooled too much. Normally Erica would have just walked to the cafeteria with her for their semi-regular coffee dates, but she had begged off today, telling Callie she needed to write down some last minute instructions for a patient and then muttering something about incompetent interns. She had told Callie to go ahead, that she would catch up to her.

It wasn't the fact that Erica was taking the time to write instructions on her patients that had set off small alarm bells in Callie's head. No, Erica was an excellent doctor, vehement about patient care, even while being harsh with patients at times. No, it was that she had not asked Callie to wait; after all this was not the first time that their coffee dates had been put off for a few minutes by work. Every other time it had occurred, Erica had asked her if she minded waiting. But not this time and that had set off the alarm bells. That and what had come after.

She had stood there ignoring Erica's suggestion that she go ahead, intent on waiting, when Erica had addressed her again. In a soft almost hesitant voice she had asked if perhaps it wouldn't be better to cancel. That had startled Callie because this was the fifth day in a row that Erica seemed to be trying to avoid spending time alone with her. Callie had managed to pull her out of whatever funk she was in yesterday. She thought that had been the end of the distance thing, especially since things had been relatively okay when she had arrived at Erica's after her shift ended last night.

She had arrived around midnight, a little earlier than she had anticipated, so she hadn't been completely surprised that Erica had not greeted her at the door like she usually did. She had been disappointed, but not entirely surprised. For a moment the dark and quiet house made her think that Erica had given up their late night coffee talks, but that thought was dispelled quickly by the light coming from Erica's office. She had approached the room quietly in case Erica was asleep. She wasn't, but she didn't seem to be immersed in anything but her own thoughts. She was sitting in front of her computer, but the screen had already gone into sleep mode. Erica had been staring at it, but not really seeing it. Callie rapped on the door frame lightly to announce her presence.

Erica had jerked around. "Callie!" she said almost as if she'd been caught doing something naughty. Erica darted out of her chair as Callie started walking towards her.

"Hey," said Callie as they reached each other. Callie's hands and lips were on automatic. She held Erica's waist and kissed her cheek. She loved that she could do this with Erica and was grateful Erica still allowed the casual, but intimate touch. She stepped back.

"You doing okay Erica? You've been…I don't know, someplace else lately," asked Callie seriously.

"No," said Erica. "I told you, I'm just thinking." She had grabbed Callie's hand automatically and led her out of the office.

"Coffee?" she had asked.

"Definitely," said Callie forgetting all about her concern over Erica sitting in a room staring at a blank computer. Erica was holding her hand and pulling her toward the kitchen which meant coffee and talking and staring into amazing blue eyes.

They had stayed up too late, which was not new for them, but there had been an intense hesitancy on Callie's part to end their conversation and figure out where she would be sleeping. For a whole minute she had even contemplated suggesting they just sleep in Erica's bed together because that way they could keep talking. But catholic guilt kicked in before she got the courage to make the suggestion. Erica had to work the next morning, so instead she had given in to logic and suggested they call it a night after a couple of hours. She had ended up in Allie's room staring at Allie's clouds and thinking about her talk with Addison. She had no answer to her interminable riddle yet. How could she be having such a strong reaction to Erica? She wasn't gay.

But despite last night's return to the closeness Callie was used to, today Erica was once again keeping her distance, trying to put off or cancel their coffee time was just the latest attempt. Their shifts didn't overlap by much, so this would be the only time they would have to talk alone.

"How long are you going to be?" Callie had asked stuffing her hands in the pockets of her scrub pants.

"Well…" Erica hesitated. "I should be just a few minutes. Why don't you get our coffees and save us some time?"

"Okay," said Callie. She had lingered for a few seconds more before turning and making her way to the cafeteria.

And now she was waiting. She looked at the clock. Five minutes had passed since she'd retrieved their coffee. She sighed.

The subtle shadow barely discernable in the fluorescent lights alerted her to a presence at her back.

"Torres," said a peppy voice. Callie turned. Gretchen was standing behind her, a Coke can clutched in her hand.

"Whatcha doing here all by your lonesome?"

Callie was trying to think of the best way to make Gretchen go away. She was waiting for Erica and did not relish having to share her with the most annoying person in the world. Before she could put words together, Gretchen had plopped down at the table.

"I'm waiting for someone," she finally got out, hoping that Gretchen would get the hint that she wasn't looking for company. But it was hopeless. Gretchen did not seem to get subtlety, hell she sometimes even ignored outright hostility.

"Who for?" asked Gretchen leaning back in her chair like someone who was planning on staying awhile and once again validating Callie's assessment of the resident as clueless. Honestly, she could not figure out why Erica thought highly of her.

"None of your business," said Callie looking towards the door and then at the other empty tables longingly.

"You waiting for Erica?"

Callie's head snapped back to Gretchen. "Do you not understand English because I can say it in Spanish too? No te metas en lo que no te importa."

"Whatever." Gretchen smiled at her. "I've just been noticing that you two kind of hang out if you're both here. I think it's funny."

Callie frowned. "What's funny about it?"

Gretchen laughed. "God, just that everyone's been kind of wondering what's going on with you two, but any idiot can see that there's nothing there."

Callie's face became hot. She gripped one of the cups of coffee, an image forming in her mind of her tossing the hot cup in Gretchen's lap or better yet, her smug face. It didn't help with the anger. She should be concerned that people were talking. It wasn't weird that people had noticed them, but she knew it would freak out Erica. But instead of concern over what people were saying, Gretchen's comment was making her seethe.

"I think I told you it was none of your business or anyone else's for that matter."

"Hey, I know. It's just ridiculous. I mean you and Erica?" She laughed again.

Now Callie was trying to calm herself with images of her fist in Gretchen's face.

"It's not," she said coldly.

"Not what?" asked Gretchen taking a sip from her own beverage.

"Not ridiculous and not funny."

Gretchen looked confused. "What are you talking about? Of course it is."

"Stop. Just stop. Not that it's any of your business, but Erica and I are friends. We're close and the idea of us is not funny or ridiculous."

"Well I know you seem close here at the hospital, but that doesn't…"

"You're delusional. You don't know anything about Erica. We are close, we're very close. There is no but. She's my best friend. She's every…."

Callie stopped, shocked by what she was about to blurt out. _She's everything to me._

Gretchen sat in silent contemplation.

"Hey Cal! Sorry I'm late."

Callie turned at the sound of Erica's voice. Gretchen looked up too.

"Erica," said Gretchen standing. "Were you looking for me?"

Erica turned to her for a second, a frown crossing her face. "Excuse me?"

"I was on my way to check on our next miracle, you know the women in 303? I can give you the run down as we walk."

Erica looked at Callie and the cups in front of her, still slightly confused by Gretchen.

"Which one is mine?" she asked Callie taking a seat next to her.

Callie's smile could not have been wider. She handed Erica the correct cup and spared Gretchen a brief glance. She heard Erica talking again and turned her attention to her.

"Thanks for getting these," said Erica. "Crazy day today. It's nice to get a break." She turned to Gretchen who was still standing, still clutching her Coke can.

"Samuels, I thought you were checking on the patient in 303?" asked Erica.

Callie watched the two of them. She could see Gretchen's knuckles go white as she gripped the can tightly. It crumpled slightly.

Gretchen gave Erica a bright smile, but Callie noticed the pressure she was putting on the can in her hand and suddenly she understood. It was all an act. The peppy voice, the cheeriness, it was all an act. Gretchen was nothing more than your garden variety brown-noser.

"Yeah sure," Gretchen was saying still smiling at Erica. "I'll see you later."

Callie watched her go and then turned to Erica.

"You know she thinks you and her are in some kind of close relationship."

"Why would she think that?" asked Erica sipping from her drink.

Callie shrugged. "You tell me. She's your resident."

"She's not mine," said Erica shifting in her seat, looking uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Good," said Callie smiling.

"Am I missing something?" asked Erica.

"No…just forget it, so how's your day been? Everything turn out okay with the whole idiotic intern upstairs?"

"Yes, it was just some intern with dyslexia or something. Do you usually double check interns' work on patient charts?" she asked.

"Of course. They're idiots. You have to check their work. First how else are you going to teach them what to do or not do. Second they make a lot of mistakes, so you have to check to make sure they don't kill anyone."

Erica smiled. "Yeah that's what I thought. Don't know why Samuels is falling down on the job. She should have checked those numbers."

Her gaze went internal. Callie knew she was thinking about work and probably Gretchen. She didn't want to talk about Gretchen and she didn't want Erica to think about Gretchen, so she searched her head for a different topic. She found it quickly as she relayed a story about a conversation she'd had with the kids and they were off talking and for a moment the distance she thought Erica had been trying to put between them seemed to disappear.

Long minutes later, Erica sat frowning as the last dregs of coffee, now cold, slid down her throat.

"So, I've been thinking… You know all about me, my professional life, love life, home life, family, but I don't know as much about you," she heard Callie say.

"What?" asked Erica incredulously.

They had been talking for fifteen minutes and both knew they should get back to work. She had been about to suggest an end to this gab session, but Callie's comment had stopped her.

"Well come on Erica. You know all about me, but I don't know all there is to know about you."

"Yes, you do," said Erica.

"No, I don't think so. Let's see. I know you're an excellent kick-ass surgeon. I know where you went to med school, that you hate Preston Burke, you have a son, you don't get along with your mother, were close to your sister and have two very close friends."

"Three," said Erica.

"What? Three what?"

"I have three very close friends and one of those…" she looked pointedly at Callie, "is an especially close friend."

Callie blushed which made Erica smile. She loved doing that.

"Okay, three and the feeling is mutual by the way, but I don't know anything about your love life. You know all about mine, but apart from the fact that you're gay, I don't know if you've even had a serious girlfriend."

Erica looked at the empty coffee cup. This was dangerous territory.

"That's because there's not much to tell," she said trying to thwart the whole topic, but knowing full well Callie would probably not let it go.

"No girlfriends? Ever? I find that hard to believe. You're way too beautiful to not have people falling for you all over the place."

Erica snorted. "Do you see anyone falling for me around here? Please let me know if you do and I'll buy her a drink," she laughed.

Callie was staring at her waiting. Erica could usually tell when Callie was nervous and she could see the nervousness radiating off of her right now. She didn't know where that was coming from, but decided that answering the question might help Callie relax again.

"Okay, fine. I've dated. Nothing serious though, mostly casual things."

Callie was still looking at her intently. "Come on Dr. Hahn, you know all my dirty little secrets, spill yours."

"Seriously, it's not that exciting Callie. I had one serious girlfriend in college. We broke up when I went to med school and she went to grad school across the country. She's probably teaching literature to snot nosed kids at some private liberal arts college right now. No one serious since. I was always more of a casual dater. I didn't really have time for anything beyond that and after my residency, when I finally did have the time, the casual dating seemed easier, so I just continued to do that. When I got Lucas that stopped and now there's just me and Lucas and….you and Allie," she finished somewhat uncomfortable with how that sounded. She didn't want to freak out Callie.

"Good," said Callie.

Erica stared at her. Callie's eyes darted back and forth and she looked like she was muttering under her breath. This was turning into one of the stranger conversation she'd had with Callie. She didn't know what the 'good' comments were about, either the one she had spoken a few seconds ago or the one Callie had uttered when they were talking about Gretchen.

"Um…I mean…I'm glad you feel like you have me and Allie…"

Erica hadn't asked for clarification, but Callie was giving it, hurriedly and nervously she was giving it, but interestingly the nervous shaky tone had seemed to cease as she said 'me and Allie'.

"Because you do…have us, I mean," finished Callie.

Erica tried not reading too much into the comment. _I wish I did, Callie. I wish I had you like I want to have you._ She shook her head and those thoughts from her mind and decided to shift the conversation slightly.

"Well I've been thinking that I should probably start dating again."

Callie started coughing violently. Erica immediately got up, removing the cup Callie was holding from her hands as she continued sputtering. She pounded Callie's back lightly not wanting to hurt her but worried that her light touch was not really helping. Her motion turned into a gentle rubbing as Callie's coughing slowed and eased.

"Breathe slowly," instructed Erica as she moved her chair close to Callie and sat. She continued rubbing her back and then reached for Callie's left hand caressing it as Callie tried breathing slowly.

"Thanks," said Callie. "Went down the wrong way."

"I noticed. You okay now?"

"Oh yeah," said Callie.

Without conscious thought she leaned into Erica placing her head on Erica's chest and just enjoying the closeness, putting all thoughts of Erica dating into the darkest, most inaccessible parts of her brain. She didn't want to have to think about that again.

* * *

_Six days after the almost kiss…_

Callie was writing furiously looking at the clock on the wall after every entry, an action that she realized took time, time she didn't have if she wanted to leave the hospital soon. The Saturday overnight had been unusually quiet, too quiet. It had been so quiet that quite a few residents (herself included) had taken advantage of the lull and caught up on sleep. But it had been too good to be true. At 3am everything had exploded into a flurry of activity and everyone was needed in the Pit to handle the influx of patients from a number of fires. It was a freakish thing, multiple fires on a night so normal feeling.

It had caught them by surprise. Thankfully there were no really serious burns, but there had been a lot of patients. Mark had been paged and was running the show, something that hardly ever happened for him. There had been a few broken bones, but nothing requiring surgery. Now that everyone had been bandaged and medicated, charts needed to be done and it was long past the end of her shift.

She had called Erica at 8am to let her know she was stuck at the hospital for an hour or so more. It was 9:30 now and Callie just wanted to finish this last chart and get home to start her Sunday. She was excited. The dull night had allowed her to sleep, which gave her the chance to spend the day with Erica and the kids without needing to rest. She was almost done with the last chart when a can of Coke appeared out of nowhere. It was sitting on the counter next to her chart. It had not been there a few seconds ago.

"Torres," said Gretchen through a yawn. "Man, I hate that I have to be here. I mean Erica's not even here, why should I have to be here, you know?"

Callie sighed. She would not let Gretchen ruin her good mood, but…

"You're a surgical resident, not Dr. Hahn's personal resident."

"God I wish I was her personal anything. I'd really like too…"

"STOP. RIGHT. NOW," said Callie, her hand pressing down on the chart so hard, the ink was bleeding out onto the paper.

"What?" said Gretchen for once sounding annoyed.

"Do not talk about her like that."

Gretchen laughed. "You know what Torres, you're not the thought police and you're not Erica's guard dog. If the idea that I think Erica's hot and sexy bothers you, I don't need to hear about it. Take your homophobic sensibilities and shove them…"

"Hey! You are so out of line. It's not homophobia you pig. I have no problems with Erica being gay. She's your boss not a piece of ass."

"She's my boss and she's hot and if I get the chance, I'm grabbing that piece of ass."

"Oh no you are not!" said Callie her voice getting louder.

"Who's gonna stop me? You? Yeah right. You're just a big straight tease. I've watched you. You like to tease her, but if she ever tried to kiss you, you'd run screaming the other way. Yeah you're curious, but you don't want her. You might as well give it up Torres. Erica's on to you. She knows you're just a big tease. That's why she hasn't done anything. Any other woman throwing herself at Erica like you do would have been bagged already."

"You mean like you? You're not subtle at all."

"That's different. I'm actually gay."

"Yeah it is different. Erica doesn't want you."

Gretchen opened her mouth to speak, but a giggle was the sound Callie heard. Gretchen frowned also surprised at the sound.

Thump.

Callie was jarred as a small body crashed into her legs and suddenly she knew that giggle and knew it had not been produced by Gretchen, which was a relief because that would just be weird.

"Aunt Cal!" she heard and saw little arms reaching up to her.

"Hey kiddo," she said picking Lucas up and smothering him with kisses.

"What are you doing here?" she asked looking around as he started squirming.

"Mommy!"

Callie heard the squealing as she put Lucas down and saw the most wonderful sight heading her way. Allie was running or trying to, dragging a much taller Erica behind her. Allie looked at Erica jumping up and down. Erica finally let go of her and Allie took off at a run towards her mother.

Callie hugged and kissed her, her temper and Gretchen all but forgotten.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked as she purposely walked over to hug and kiss Erica on the cheek.

"Breakfast. Mom said we could get you for breakfast," said Lucas.

Callie was standing next to Erica not suppressing the urge she had to intertwine their hands.

"That sounds great," she turned to Erica. "Give me about 10 minutes. I have one more chart and then I'll change and we can get going."

"Okay, but actually can the kids hang with you for a few minutes? I want to check on a patient. I got a call from Yang last night that some of her numbers are spiking."

"Sure, why don't we meet at the resident's locker room?"

"Okay, see you in a few minutes," said Erica as she squeezed their still joined hands. She rumpled Lucas and Allie's hair before walking down the hall and towards her patient.

Callie watched her for a few seconds before turning to find the kids sitting on the floor taking Legos from the backpack Lucas had carried in with him.

"Hey guys, not here." She picked up her chart. "Why don't we go to the waiting area and you can take some of those out there?"

They nodded in agreement.

Callie looked at Gretchen whose gaze was on the hallway where Erica had disappeared.

"Make a move Torres," Callie heard her say.

"Give it up Gretchen," she started to respond with a frown, but Gretchen wasn't listening.

"Make a move or get out of the way," she said as she stepped into the hallway following the same path Erica had taken.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Callie was dressed and ready. The Legos were back in Lucas's backpack and the kids were walking around the locker room making all the locks swing.

"When's Mom coming?" whined Lucas.

Callie looked up at the clock. "She'll be coming any minute now Lucas," she answered him absently. She had been saying that for the last ten minutes. Erica should have been here by now, but this was a hospital where things went wrong or changed from good to bad in a heartbeat. Erica could be caught up in some emergency. Hoping she wasn't making a mistake, she got up from the bench.

"Let's go guys. Let's see if we can find her."

She heard their footsteps pounding lightly on the tiled surface as they made their way to her. They reached for her hands and stepped out of the locker room. Callie quickly calculated Erica's most likely route and followed that hoping they would catch her in route and not end up missing each other entirely. They passed a few nurse's stations slowly, Callie's eyes peeled for Erica's blonde head.

Lucas stuck close to her, but Allie was skipping along happily. They approached the resident's lounge and Callie slowed to take a peek inside. She stopped abruptly startling Allie.

"Mommy!" said Allie. "You have to say when you're stopping."

Callie heard her but couldn't answer. She had an overwhelming urge to burst into the lounge and pull Gretchen off of her…friend. Erica was seated at the round table immersed in whatever problem or mystery was in front of her. Callie could see her eyes moving back and forth reading. Gretchen was looking over Erica's shoulder standing way too close for Callie's comfort. Erica was either too immersed in whatever she was looking at to notice Gretchen or Gretchen's presence was welcome. The second option was a prospect that caused an unwelcome twisting in Callie's stomach.

She saw Gretchen's hand move from its idle state in Gretchen's pocket to Erica's back and almost slammed the door open.

"Is Mom in there?' asked Lucas.

"Yeah, sweetie," she said still unsure of how she wanted to proceed. She saw Erica's lips moving, her eyes still excitedly scanning the pages in front of her. Callie reached for the doorknob in a quick easy motion, letting herself in just as Gretchen was removing her hand and taking a half-step back from Erica. Both Erica and Gretchen looked up at Callie as she entered. Callie tried to keep her face neutral as she spoke.

"Hey," she said smiling at Erica.

Gretchen rolled her eyes. Erica returned Callie's smile.

"Mom," said Lucas for once not moving toward his mother. "Can we go now?" he asked.

Erica's eyes left Callie and focused on him. "Okay kiddo. Sorry this took a little longer than I thought. Give me 30 seconds," she said as her gaze returned to the papers in front of her. She made a few notations then looked up. "All ready." She handed the papers to Gretchen.

"Nice work Dr. Samuels. You and Yang did great catching and explaining that spike in her numbers."

She nodded her head at Gretchen in acknowledgement before turning to Callie and the kids.

"Okay, all ready for pancake breakfast?" she asked.

"Finally!" said Lucas letting go of Callie's hand and walking back into the hall. Allie followed him.

"Well let's get going then," said Callie extending her hand to Erica in invitation.

Erica blinked unnaturally, before her eyes settled on Callie. Callie looked from Erica to her outreached hand. Finally Erica reacted, reaching for Callie's hand, intertwining their fingers and walking out. Callie gave Gretchen one last glance as she followed the tug of Erica's hand.

* * *

_Seven days after the almost kiss… _

Callie was in a bad mood. She had done a quick search for Erica when she first arrived for her shift this afternoon, but had not seen her yet. That was reason enough to be in a bad mood, but add to that the mere presence of Gretchen Samuels and you had the ingredients for a super-powered extra nasty bad mood. Gretchen Samuels had been here a week and already their snippy little fights were becoming the stuff of legend at Seattle Grace. Perhaps that was a slight exaggeration, but nevertheless she could not deny how people steered clear when the two of them were in the same room.

She entered the resident's lounge wanting a simple cup of coffee. Much to her annoyance she found Gretchen at a table, that interminable can of Coke in her hand, talking smack. Even if her mood had been a little brighter, she would not have been able to help herself. Gretchen was taunting her. She knew Callie hated to hear her talk about Erica in the way she did and yet she continued.

Callie tried to ignore her, going straight for the coffee pot and not acknowledging her at all. Gretchen gave her a fake smile and continued talking in a loud voice to the few folks that had remained in the lounge. Callie tried not to listen.

"God whenever we have a surgery like that, it makes me so….Well let's just say Erica Hahn can touch me anytime she wants with those magnificently beautiful hands."

It was tough not to listen and as a result Callie almost burned her hand off when she heard Gretchen's comment. She only just managed to get control of the coffee pot she had been pouring, stopping the overflow that was seconds from happening. She carefully tipped her cup to get rid of some of the excess and tried to concentrate on adding sugar and cream.

"Yep, I would love to see what else those hands could do. I mean those fingers, the precision with which she works; man that just makes me..."

"Shut up, Samuels. It's disrespectful and you know it. Besides no one wants to hear your wet dreams. Keep it to yourself and leave Dr. Hahn out of your dirty little fantasies."

"As if you could make me."

"You're disgusting. You should be showing her some respect. Instead you objectify her, probably like every male surgeon she has ever encountered who treated her like all she was good for was a good fuck."

Callie was pissed and she had said too much, but she had also finally made Gretchen shut up. Gretchen sat there not looking at her and not saying anything. Callie picked up her coffee and made her way to the door quickly. This crap with Gretchen had to stop.

She was walking down the hall as she thought of Addison's visit and the almost kiss she had been replaying over and over in her head. Gretchen was right. She needed to make a move. She needed to find Erica. She sipped from her hot coffee and went in search of Erica. She was still nervous about the whole thing, but Addison was right too. Whether or not she acted, things were bound to change, they were already changing and Callie wanted them to change in ways that made her and Erica happy. She didn't know how she was going to do it or what she would say, but she would not let another day pass without letting Erica know how she felt.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 14 – Could it be that the next chapter will be the chapter where they finally, finally….


	14. Chapter 14

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 14)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note: **Back in Chapter 1 or 2, I might have mentioned that while this story is AU, there are some parallels with what happened on screen. You'll see them in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 14

An hour after her little spat with Gretchen, Callie found her.

"Hey you," said Callie finding Erica immersed in paper work in one of the many lounges. "I've been looking for you."

Erica looked up and smiled easily.

"Any chance they'll let you out of here now instead of eight hours from now so you can come home with me?" asked Erica setting down the clipboard in her hand.

Callie smiled as she took a seat close to her. She liked this. It felt more like how they were before Erica had started withdrawing from her in bits and pieces.

"I don't know. You're an attending, wanna spring me early?"

"Unfortunately, I think you'd have to ask that glorified carpenter Samson to spring you. Seriously Callie how you learned anything from that guy is a mystery to me." She propped her head on her hand and closed her eyes.

Callie knew Erica was about twenty minutes away from ending what had most likely been a very stressful shift. She had heard from one of the nurses that it had been nothing but surgeries and consults for Dr. Hahn since 5am when she had been called in unexpectedly. They had noted it because despite the stress, she seemed to be in high spirits.

"He's an idiot," Erica continued. "You have a guaranteed job here, you know. You are the best ortho surgeon in this whole place. They won the lottery when they got you."

Erica did not hand out compliments lightly. But it was the way she was delivering the compliment that touched Callie. She was not saying it to prove a point or to try to win favor with Callie. She was saying it like it was a fact or common knowledge. Callie was about to burst. She had not seen this particular Erica in a week. She liked this Erica, wanted her back desperately.

"Wow, you're in a good mood," she said smiling uncontrollably and not being able to resist the impulse to lay a hand on the arm resting casually on the table. To her surprise and delight, for the first time in a week, Erica did not do that slow pulling away thing she had been doing.

"I guess I am," said Erica sounding a little surprised. "I finally got some help in cardio. This department has decent surgeons, but none of them can handle difficult cases, well except for Yang, but Webber won't let me have her. I finally got a resident who knows what she's doing and isn't afraid of complexity. She had me a little worried, but she really came through today."

Callie's smile disappeared. "Ah, your new resident."

"Yes, you've met her, haven't you?" said Erica opening her eyes.

"Yeah. She's a little obnoxious," stated Callie unconsciously stroking the arm under her hand.

Erica lifted her head. "She can be, but she's good. She holds up under pressure and for the most part, I don't have to teach her anything. Although I think her transition to Seattle Grace has been a little tough. She's been making some mistakes, but she was great for most of today. She's got a lot of surgeries under her belt and great instincts. She's like you," she finished.

Callie frowned. "I hope not."

"What did she do insult your mother or something?" Erica teased.

"No, she insulted you," she said.

Erica seemed taken aback. "Really? That's surprising. She's usually trying to be overly friendly to me."

"Well she didn't insult you in the usual way, but she did show a serious lack of respect," said Callie.

"What did she say?" asked Erica.

Callie looked away. Erica reached for the hand currently not resting on her arm with her own free hand and held it gently in hers, apparently forgetting her no initiating touching policy.

"Hey, it doesn't matter. I'm not affected by it, I promise. It couldn't be anything worse then what's already been said around here. I've heard it all before Callie. It doesn't bother me." She tugged at Callie's hand.

Callie tangled her fingers with Erica's and returned Erica's gaze, letting everything she was feeling show. She let the fears and insecurities rise to the surface, alongside the desire, the wanting and yes, the love she felt for this woman rise up in her as she stared. Erica seemed astounded at what she saw and blinked. Callie took note of their positions, sitting close together, their hands entangled in each others, her casual stroking of Erica's arm and knew that a stranger walking in right now would not be confused about what they meant to each other. If a stranger wouldn't be confused, why should she?

Callie took a deep breath thinking about what to say, but her mind was a complete blank slate. Surprisingly, thoughts of Gretchen rushed into the empty spaces. She imagined Gretchen walking in on them at this moment and a part of her wanted Gretchen to walk in, not because she wanted to gloat or make obvious that she was as close to Erica as Gretchen wanted to be. No, it was the primal peeing around your territory part of her personality that wanted Gretchen to walk in. It was about protecting what was hers and she wanted Erica to be hers and Gretchen to know it. So part of her was hoping, wishing, praying really that a certain long-legged, skinny, coke swilling, obnoxious blond resident would walk in right at this very moment. But they were alone and no one was interrupting them.

She saw Erica look away in confusion, felt the hand in hers relax around her fingers and start to pull away. Callie squeezed hard, holding on, intent on not letting Erica slip from her fingers. She thought of Addison's warning again. This was her opportunity. It was the wrong place, but it was time. It was way past time. She leaned in closer focusing on Erica's hand in hers.

"She said something about wanting to see what else your hands could do and I didn't particularly like that comment."

Erica's mouth opened slightly, her eyebrows were almost to her hairline. Callie didn't know what else to say so instead she began slowly tracing the fingers in Erica's hand. Erica's eyes went to their joined hands. She cleared her throat.

"Is that so?" she asked.

Callie shrugged. "Yes," she stated simply her fingers continuing to trace the outline of Erica's hand. Erica watched her. She seemed at a loss for words. Finally she spoke, her voice low and slightly huskier than usual.

"It doesn't mean anything. Not to me and I doubt it means anything to her," said Erica.

Callie felt like the worried lover and decided to go with that feeling, play that role, thinking this was her way of having a conversation they needed to have. She took both of Erica's hands in hers and continued the gentle tracing of her fingers.

"Should I be worried?" she asked both verbally and with her eyes.

Erica looked confused alternating between looking at Callie's face and their joined hands.

"Why would you be worried?" Erica responded.

"Well, I don't particularly want her to find out what other things your hands can do."

"Then no, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

You don't _think_," repeated Callie with a smile. "I need a little more assurance than that."

Erica tilted her head. "Assurance of what exactly, Callie?"

Callie leaned forward. "I don't want you touching anyone… but… me," she whispered.

Callie noticed the accelerated rate of Erica's breathing, how Erica's eyes were glued to their hands, so she kept up the gentle tracing enjoying the warmth of those fingers. She watched her, waiting for her reaction. Erica closed her eyes and looked like she was trying to relax or get something under control.

"Callie…" she started to say as she looked up. She stopped mid-speech as she saw Callie get up.

Callie moved closer to Erica, still holding Erica's hands in hers. "Erica, I really want to kiss you right now."

Erica swallowed hard. Callie leaned forward wanting to fulfill her desire. Erica watched her intently as if not believing this was really happening. Their faces were inches apart, mouths slightly open, breath coming in irregular spurts.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

They jumped, reaching for their pagers automatically.

"It's me," said Erica looking at Callie only briefly as she got up. She stopped at the door and turned.

"Callie," she started. She put her hands in the pockets of her lab jacket. "I don't know… I'd like to...." her eyes wandered around the room.

"Me too," said Callie.

"You don't know what I was going to say."

"Whatever it was me too."

Erica laughed nervously. Her pager went off again just as Callie reached the door to stand next to her.

"I'll walk with you," said Callie.

"What if I was going to say I'd like to get into your pants?" said Erica pointedly not looking at Callie.

"I'd say me too."

Erica almost tripped over her own feet. They were almost to the Pit when Callie's pager went off too.

"You have the absolute worse timing in the world Torres," said Erica. "I'd really like to finish this conversation, but we need to decide who's going to call Nell and give her the bad news, because I don't think I'm getting out of here on time today."

"Let's see what were dealing with first," answered Callie.

* * *

It took over nine hours to get that kid out of the cement block he was encased in. The only good thing had been that she and Erica had actually gotten to work together, something that didn't happen very often. It had made Callie inappropriately giddy and she'd had to work really hard to put a clamp on that. Then there was the utter sexiness that was Erica working, taking command of a situation, fighting to save the kid's life. Even though they all had important roles to play and they were all working towards the same goal, Erica still had the toughest task, which was basically making sure the kid's heart didn't explode. Just like when she had seen her with a guitar strapped to her months ago, there was something about Erica performing that just did things to Callie.

So on top of keeping her head together in a crisis, keeping the goals front and center, doing everything she could to make sure the kid got to keep his legs, she had to put aside what Erica's nearness was doing to her. At one point Erica had been so close that mere inches separated their faces. Their eyes had met briefly and Callie had almost groaned out loud. Erica had hurriedly looked away.

Mark had been making snarky comments that she knew were directed at them or maybe they were just directed at her since he seemed a little afraid of Erica. After nearly nine hours of working on that kid she was still standing. Their own kids were no longer a concern. In between everything Erica had called her friend Danielle, who had agreed to stay with Lucas and Allie so they wouldn't have to drag them to the hospital.

She was watching Erica work from the scrub room. Erica should look exhausted and worn out, all of which Callie was also feeling. The difference was that Callie was sure she looked it too. Erica somehow still looked good, like she could go another eight or nine hours, no problem. At least that's what she looked like to Callie. She shook her head.

"You're supposed to be sitting down. That's what the breaks are for. We've been on our feet for over nine hours, rest your legs," said Mark as he walked in and saw her.

"My legs are good," she said to him still watching Erica through the glass.

"Inappropriate, don't you think? Thinking about sex during surgery."

She looked at him ready to protest. He continued.

"I'm just saying what I've been witnessing all day."

She looked away. "We had a pretty important… conversation before all of this." She closed her eyes and turned around, her back now to the glass. She leaned against the counter. "I haven't talked to anyone about this, but we…there's something..." She grimaced hating that she was struggling with the words.

"Callie it's okay. Anybody can see there's something between you. I wish someone would look at me like you look at her. So what happened before cement boy?"

He was next to her, up against the counter, mimicking her position, arms crossed in front of him. She smiled.

"I told her Gretchen had the hots for her and that I didn't want her having the hots for anyone but me, or something like that." She looked at him. "I know, I know, pretty lame."

He smirked. "It's weak, but it's something. It's about time too. So then what? She jump your bones or something?"

She gave him a disbelieving look.

"No," and laughed at where his dirty perverted mind was going.

Their conversation was interrupted by the swish of the doors. Erica was standing there looking at the two of them, a crease forming at her forehead, her eyes shifting from one to the other. She had a question in her eyes and what Callie thought was a look of pain or fear, barely discernible. Her gaze was on them for a few seconds before it went internal and focused on nothing. Callie found her voice and uttered an awkward sounding "Hey".

"Well, he's vascularly intact, so you guys can start debriding." Mark and Callie nodded acknowledging her.

"I'm going to check on my service," she said and then she was gone.

* * *

Erica knew it had been a lame excuse, but the sight of them standing so close together, obviously involved in an intimate conversation irked her. He irked her. He was, she honestly surmised, a threat, which she knew sounded odd, but it was her gut instinct telling her he was a threat and she tended to trust it. Of the two very stupid men Callie had been involved with at Seattle Grace, Mark Sloan was the one who could interfere, interrupt, damage or just mess in general with her and Callie, if there was ever going to be a her and Callie.

Yes, Callie had actually been romantically involved with George, had loved him even, but George was clearly not interested in Callie. Erica saw it in his actions more than anything else. He didn't look for Callie and even when they happened to occupy the same space, his eyes didn't search her out. He just wasn't or at least didn't appear to be that into Callie. Erica sometimes wondered what they had ever seen in each other or how they had acted when they were a couple. There was nothing that had lingered from that relationship. It was as if there were no traces of it in their interactions, nothing to even hint at intimacy or closeness.

Mark was a different story. Mark's eyes lingered on Callie and while Erica could tell that his attentions were based on pure physical attraction, he also cared about Callie. He sought her out, he laughed with her, he was concerned when she was upset. She had seen examples of it. No, Callie was not and had not been romantically linked to Mark, but even their short seemingly insignificant physical relationship seemed to suggest a level of caring that went beyond a purely casual encounter. Callie had told her he had made her feel loved and Erica had no doubt that were he to put his mind to it, Mark could love Callie. Erica could handle George, Mark, Mark made her nervous and anxious and insecure. She hated him for that. She wasn't used to those emotions and she didn't like them, didn't like herself feeling so unsure. So instead of dealing or staying there and talking to Callie, she had done what she did best, gave them instructions and stomped off to work.

She and Callie had had a pretty amazing moment hours earlier. As a result her focus today had been hard fought. She'd had to contend with exhaustion and her own heart beating in all sorts of irregular patterns. No wonder Bailey had been the one to figure out what they were missing with cement boy. She should have known that, but her head had been in the clouds, examining and obsessing about every interaction with Callie during the crisis. Every look, every touch had been catalogued and analyzed right alongside the patient's stats and the problems he was presenting. Now she should be preparing to go home and relieve Danielle, but she wasn't. She was sitting in a dark nurse's station charting. She wanted to make sure all of the bases would be covered overnight for cement boy. That's what she told herself or what she would have told anyone who asked.

But she knew she was really killing time until Callie was done, although she didn't know when that would be exactly. They had promised to finish their conversation, but the minutes were interminably long and she was starting to feel like maybe she had misunderstood what had happened earlier, maybe it was a figment of her exhausted mind, like an illusion or a mirage. She was sure Callie had mentioned something about Gretchen wanting to sleep with her. But that was just Gretchen being Gretchen. Had she imagined the rest? Had she been in fantasyland even while awake, thinking Callie had told her she hadn't liked Gretchen's attentions towards Erica, that she felt threatened by them?

"Stop it. Just stop it!"

"Dr. Hahn?"

Yang's voice startled her. She thought she had been relatively alone at the desk. The verbal scolding had been meant for her ears only, a last desperate attempt to stop thoughts that were making her fearful and queasy.

"Yang. I didn't know you were there," said Erica trying to compose herself.

"Just charting same as you," said Christina.

"Okay," answered Erica absently.

"Hey where was Gretchen super resident today? I would have expected her to be all over this."

Erica frowned realizing that Gretchen had not shown her face in the trauma all day. All day Erica had been relying on Yang.

"I don't know. I didn't think to page her, but she should have been around, at least at the beginning." She sighed before turning to Christina. "You did great by the way. I wish Webber would just let me..."

She stopped. _God, what the hell was happening to her?_ She could not very well tell Christina that she wished Webber would let some junior residents specialize. She would love to have Christina on her service permanently. She would even promise to lend her out regularly to other departments to give her a well rounded surgical education. Christina was looking at her expectantly. She sighed.

"She's not working out as well as I had hoped," she offered.

Christina blinked. "Yeah," she said. "Get rid of her."

Erica laughed heartily.

"You should go home, Erica" said Christina. "You've been here almost twenty hours."

"I know. I think I will," she said knowing that it made sense to just go home.

She didn't know when Callie would be done. She had been at the hospital too long. She needed to get some sleep. She and Callie could talk tomorrow. She pushed aside the charts after making some notations, tried to push aside the fear that whatever had inspired Callie to tell her she wanted to kiss her would recede and they would never talk about it again and went to the locker room to change her clothes and get ready to go home.

* * *

Erica was about to crash hard from the high she had been in for most of the day. The moment with Callie that had felt so promising had started the high, but it continued when she first set eyes on the cement encrusted mess that had started out as a healthy, albeit slightly idiotic, young man. It was the challenge and urgency of the situation that had fueled her high then. But now she was crashing. Her stupid insecurities had only made the downward spiral worse. She had been going over the moments with Callie before they were interrupted by the cement boy trauma repeatedly; trying to convince herself that what she thought had happened, had really happened. And now she had lost her keys. Losing her keys was pretty much the crap icing on the shit cake that was coming down from that high.

And to think, she had been in such a good mood. Right before Callie had found her in the lounge ages ago, she had been about to end a perfectly decent shift. It had been long and she had not relished being called in at 5am, but her surgeries had actually been interesting. Gretchen had finally lived up to Erica's expectations. No one had died, she had found time to chart in peace and no grenades had been tossed her way. When Callie had found her, she had been in such high spirits and so happy to see her that she had forgotten all the awkwardness and fear that had plagued her after their almost kiss.

Callie had been happy to see her too and Erica had just wanted to revel in that. The playful and highly suggestive banter that had followed and which had unbelievable almost ended in a kiss had only fueled the good mood. But after hours of working on cement boy her good mood had drained out of her. She and Callie hadn't finished their conversation. Callie was with Mark now. Gretchen had gone AWOL during the crisis, which pretty much meant Gretchen was becoming a problem Erica would need to deal with, since she had brought her here. And on top of everything else, she couldn't find her keys.

This was the second time she had emptied her bag, only to fill it again and still no keys. She patted herself down trying to listen for the tell-tale sound of jingling, but all she heard were cars zooming in the distance and the rustling her hands made against her jacket. She took a deep breath and dove into her bag again. Maybe the keys were hiding in some dark corner. For the third time she started emptying her bag. She turned the bag inside out, shook it, ran her fingers through every inch of it and still no keys. She was refilling her bag, making sure to vigorously shake everything as she put it back. She knew if she didn't find her keys soon, she was going to lose it. She needed sleep.

She heard footsteps approaching her and knew the rhythm of those steps. She wasn't going to be able to handle Callie right now. She was in no condition to have the conversation they had promised, assuming Callie still wanted to have it, so she kept her head down continuing to throw things in her bag carefully.

"Hey, you're still here. I thought you were long gone."

"I can't find my keys," she said.

"Why don't you leave your car here and I'll drive us home. You're exhausted anyway. We can pick up your car tomorrow."

"I had the damn keys this morning. I put them in this bag, but I can't find them," she said still not looking at Callie. _Yep she was definitely losing it._

"Erica," Callie was frowning.

"I'm just a little tired."

"Erica!' said Callie loud enough that Erica had to look at her.

"What?" she said pretty sure she looked as exhausted as she felt.

"Let me take you home. We'll find your keys tomorrow."

But for some reason Erica's keys had become the key to her stability. Without them, she would feel completely lost.

"I need to find my keys," she persisted still looking at Callie.

Callie searched her eyes and held Erica's gaze. She stepped forward, their faces once again mere inches apart. Callie reached her hand into Erica's jacket. Erica heard it, the jingle. She blinked in surprise as Callie pulled out her keys and held them in front of her. Erica was tempted to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of the situation, but Callie was still in front of her close enough to reach without much effort. In fact it was no effort at all.

She leaned into Callie who met her halfway and this time there were no pagers and no bouncing children. Their lips met and it was as if they had been kissing for ages. Their lips moved softly over each other, brushing sensually in a natural rhythm. They pulled back slightly staring at each other momentarily before continuing. The kisses became more urgent now and mouths were coaxed into the game, opening and closing as they sucked each other's air. Tongues became involved and they found they couldn't be close enough. Callie's hands were tangled in Erica's hair as if she was afraid Erica would pull back or disappear. Erica's arms went around Callie's waist pulling their bodies close. Finally, Callie pulled back, looking around as if she had just realized they were in front of the hospital.

Erica was standing in front of her, eyes closed. Seconds passed and still she remained in the same place, eyes still closed. Callie reached for her, cupping her face gently. "Erica, are you okay?"

"I'm tired," said Erica "And I don't know if I'm dreaming."

Callie laughed before giving her a light peck on the mouth. "You're not dreaming. Come on let me take you home. You need some serious sleep."

Erica did not move, but she did open her eyes. She smiled. "Do I get more kisses?" she asked.

Callie was now throwing Erica's things back in her bag. She laughed. "Yeah, but we gotta get you home first, okay?"

Erica snapped out of it and began helping. Callie picked up the bag once they were done and put it over her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you home." She threaded her hand through Erica's and led her to the parking garage and her car, never noticing George O'Malley watching them from the entrance to the hospital, his mouth open, his face pasty white.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 15 – Coming up next: The beginning of something pretty darn wonderful for our two heroines.


	15. Chapter 15

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 15)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the lateness, forgot my laptop at home, along with gloves and hat which on a cold dreary Chicago day is bad, but you don't want to hear about that. Enjoy this little bit of Callie/Erica goodness.

* * *

Chapter 15

Erica was fighting sleep in the car. Her mind was foggy and her body was not responding to her directives. Her eyes wanted to close, but her and Callie needed to talk. She knew that. If they didn't she was afraid it would all slip away from her. They had kissed and that had gone a long way towards absolving the fears that had plagued her earlier, but she needed things to be clear to Callie. She loved her, was sure of it, and had been sure of it for awhile. She didn't want to be an experiment. She wanted, needed things to be clear, but her eyes kept wanting to close and the thoughts in her head were not exactly making their way out of her mouth.

"Callie," she managed to get out. "We have to talk."

"I know," said Callie reaching for Erica's hand and grasping it tightly. "You're tired Erica. Give yourself a break, okay. We'll deal with everything tomorrow."

Erica felt the hand holding hers. She laid her head against the seat, her eyes closing involuntarily. Callie was right. She could barely form thoughts let alone words right now, no matter how hard she tried or how bad she wanted to. So she laid her head back and thought about the kiss they had shared, that wonderfully perfect kiss, hoping it would be the first of many.

* * *

Callie pulled into Erica's driveway. She saw a blue Honda sitting in Erica's usual spot. That must be Danielle's car. Erica had been quiet for most of the ride, but she wasn't sleeping. She seemed to be fighting her body's desire to shut down. She opened her eyes just as Callie cut the engine. She looked at Callie.

"Home?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Callie smiling. "Come on. We need to put you to bed."

They stepped into the house quietly. It was dark except for a small lamp in the corner of the living room. Callie saw a petite figure with a full head of short blond hair wrapped in blankets on the couch. She stirred on hearing them enter and sat up.

"Drama over?" the figure asked in a sleepy voice.

"Yeah," whispered Callie. "This is a little awkward. I'm Callie Torres, Allie's mom. Thanks for coming out and staying with them."

"Right," said Erica, "I forgot you haven't actually met. Danielle, Callie - Callie, Danielle." Erica took off her jacket tossing it carelessly in a corner along with her bag.

Callie was smiling as she watched her. "She needs to get to bed before she hurts herself," she said to Danielle. Danielle was yawning.

"Yeah, you two must be exhausted. It was no problem coming out to hang with the kids. I wasn't doing much. Sam had to work. They're great kids. Listen do you mind if I stay the night? It's late and...."

"Of course not," said Callie hurriedly and then backtracked. "Sorry, I guess Erica should really be the one answering that."

Erica looked like she had finally realized that something was required of her. "No, no that's fine. Do you want the bed?"

Callie looked at her. "Erica, go to sleep. I'll make sure Danielle is taken care of."

"I can't. I have to shower."

"God, she's trying to find ways to kill herself. Fine, go shower. I'll check on you in a minute," she said, hoping a minute was all it was. She didn't think Erica could drown herself in a minute, could she?

Erica headed for the stairs. "You could just join me," she said as if they shared showers everyday.

Callie's eyes widened at the comment. She laughed nervously before turning back to Danielle who was smiling at her.

"Um...she's been going for awhile. I think she's a little..."

"No worries," said Danielle lying back down on the couch. "I am more than comfortable here. You look tired yourself. Maybe you should join her. I have everything I need."

Callie shook her head. "Great. Well then... Okay, good night Danielle."

"Night," she heard.

Callie took a deep breath and headed for the stairs. So many things had changed in so short a time. She didn't want to be apart from Erica tonight, but the thought of spending the night together in the same bed, which was her plan, freaked her out a little. She knew she didn't have to sleep here even with Danielle downstairs. She could sleep in her own house or even in the extra bed in Allie's room.

She made her way to Erica's bedroom and knocked. No answer. She opened the door slowly and heard the shower still going. No, as freaked out as she was about everything that had happened in the last 10 hours, she couldn't see leaving this house tonight. Besides, nothing was going to happen. Erica was delirious with exhaustion. Callie sat on the bed awkwardly. She wasn't sure how Erica would read her being here or how she would react to Callie's plan to spend the night with her. The shower noises ended, so she stood. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked lightly wanting Erica to know she was in the bedroom.

"Erica? You okay? Do you need anything?"

The door opened. Erica stood there in nothing but a towel, her hair dripping on the bathroom floor. Callie gulped and closed her eyes. _Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about what's under that towel. She's exhausted. You're freaked out._ She opened her eyes again as she heard Erica's concerned voice.

"Callie?" Erica walked towards her swaying just a little. Callie woke up and reached for her, applying a steady hand on Erica's waist.

"Erica, we need to get you to bed, seriously."

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" asked Erica. She had reached for Callie at the same time Callie had reached for her. They were standing in the doorway, Callie's hands on Erica's waist and Erica's on her shoulder.

"I was going to ask for some clothes. I seemed to have forgotten them."

Callie led her to the bed making her sit. "Sure because you always take clothes into your bathroom?" she teased. "Tell me where to look," she said looking Erica in the eyes. Erica pointed. After some careful rummaging, she found a t-shirt and boxers and handed them to her.

Callie looked in the drawer Erica had designated as hers a month ago for a t-shirt. She couldn't remember when her own clothes started making their way over to Erica's. She remembered vaguely Erica mentioning something to her about perhaps being more comfortable in her own t-shirts. She had told Callie that she did not mind sharing her t-shirts with Callie, but that if she would be more comfortable, Erica could give her a drawer so she could keep t-shirts and shorts in case Callie wanted to change into more comfortable clothes for her morning nap.

Addison had been right. They had skipped the romance, which as far as she was concerned was the good part, and had done everything else. She had a god-damned drawer in Erica's house filled with t-shirts and shorts and panties and they had only just kissed for the first time an hour ago. Addison had been so right. Unfortunately she did not find a t-shirt in her drawer.

"Hey, I'm borrowing a t-shirt of yours. I think I've almost run out of clean clothes here."

"Probably," said Erica. "I usually do laundry while you're at work on Friday nights."

Callie smiled at her. "I was wondering how those clean clothes just kept appearing in my drawer week after week. I was thinking of bringing more and more of my clothes here just so they'd get cleaned."

"Very funny Torres."

"Alright, listen. I'm going to shower. Do you mind if I use your bathroom? I'm afraid if I use the one in the hall it will wake the kids."

"Callie, you don't have to ask."

Callie started walking towards Erica's bathroom. "Put some clothes on before you start to freeze and dry your hair. I'll be out in a minute."

* * *

Callie wanted to linger. There was something inherently sensual about showering in Erica's bathroom. She found herself thinking about Erica in very interesting ways in this shower. Erica had just been in this shower naked, in the same space where Callie now stood also naked. It was making her body shiver. She felt it, felt herself opening up to the possibility of being with Erica physically. It was something that was changing from a possibility to a need, a need that was developing quickly. The hot water hitting skin becoming sensitized didn't help her focus. She turned off the water and tried to get her breathing under control. She stepped out of the shower, dried herself quickly and donned the t-shirt she had borrowed from Erica. Thank God she still had shorts here, although that wasn't really a surprise. Her morning naps in Erica's bed were usually done in just a T-shirt or bra, so it made sense that she would run out of t-shirts first.

She walked out of the bathroom to find Erica struggling with her long hair. Callie draped the towel she used in drying her own hair over her shoulder and went to Erica standing in front of her and taking over the toweling. She dried Erica's hair, systematically toweling it off in sections and enjoying every blessed minute of it. Erica rarely let herself be pampered or taken care of like this. She had leaned into Callie halfway through the process, simply resting her head on Callie's chest. Finally Callie was done. The towel was wet, so Callie just dropped it on the floor along with the one still draped over her shoulder and tried ordering Erica's hair with her hands.

"I'll be right back," she said as she pushed Erica back. She went to the bathroom found a brush and returned, resuming her position. She brushed Erica's hair, being careful of tangles until she was satisfied that it would not be a total mess when Erica woke up.

"All done," she said tossing the brush on top of the towels.

Apart from the occasional, "You don't have to do this," from Erica, which Callie shushed, neither of them said much. Once she was finished, Callie placed her arms on Erica's shoulders. Somehow she had ended up standing between Erica's legs, Erica's hands at her waist.

"I think you're overdue for a nice long nap," she said.

"I think I deserve something more than a nap, don't you think?" said Erica looking up at her.

Callie smiled. "Yes, so much more."

She licked her lips not being able to resist the pull of Erica's eyes, which were tired and out of focus, but still burning with a desire Erica was no longer masking. Callie leaned in for the inevitable kiss, because it was inevitable, their whole relationship from the start had been leading up to this moment. Erica was pulling her closer and she was going. Their lips continued moving against each other, the feel and taste of Erica was messing with Callie's thought process. She wanted just that, to concentrate on Erica's lips, on her mouth, the texture of it, the taste. She felt warm hands at her waist inside her loose fitting shirt and gasped. Erica stood up and moved their bodies closer.

Callie had a vague notion that they were moving too fast. She tried slowing down their kisses, but the kisses had changed without her permission. They were full open-mouth hot kisses involving lips and tongues and moans and it was impossible to even try to move away. Erica's long arms were around her keeping her close. Erica pulled away from Callie's mouth and moved to her neck kissing and sucking with the same intensity she had applied to Callie's mouth.

Free to breathe and talk, Callie was trying to focus on words, but Erica's attentions were overriding her thoughts. She was being turned and felt her legs touch the back of the bed.

"Erica," she finally got out. "We need to slow down a little."

Erica stopped completely. She took a deep breath, loosened her hold on Callie and caressed her face before stepping away.

"I know, sorry about that." She ran her hands through her hair.

Callie reached for her grasping an idle hand. "Don't be. I'm not. It's just that we're exhausted."

Callie climbed into the bed tugging at Erica's hand. Erica was looking confused, but eventually seemed to push past it and followed Callie into the bed. They settled in, both lying on their backs. After a few minutes, Callie reached over Erica and turned off the light before resuming her position on her back.

"Wait a minute," said Erica loudly. "We're not...What are you....Are you spending the night?"

"Um...yes?" said Callie wondering if Erica would ask her to leave.

"In my bed?"

"Yes"

"With me in it?"

Callie propped herself on her hand. "It seems that way. Go to sleep Erica. You're exhausted."

"Okay, but we still need to talk. You'll be here tomorrow, right?"

Callie could hear her voice fading. She rubbed Erica's stomach, felt Erica's hand settle over hers.

"I'll be here," said Callie softly.

She lay back down, moving closer to Erica and closing her eyes. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring and for now she didn't want to worry about that uncertainty.

* * *

The sun really streamed into Erica's bedroom, was the sleepy thought that met Callie as she woke. She had always known how bright Erica's bedroom was in general, but had rarely been in it just as the sun rose. The change from dark to light was intense in this room. No wonder Erica was always awake so early. Today though, Erica seemed to have no trouble sleeping through the cascade of light that invaded the room. Callie however was blinking and squinting. She lifted her head from Erica's chest and looked for a clock. It was almost seven in the morning. She looked at Erica's relaxed features which nevertheless still showed the strains of the previous day. She smiled thinking about everything that had happened, the bad, the scary, and the absolutely wonderful. The sleeping next to Erica had been wonderful. She and Erica just felt right. She thought Erica should sleep for a few more hours, but if she hoped to keep the kids away from her, she would need to get up soon. She kissed Erica lightly, enjoying that immensely, before leaving the bed.

She walked silently to Lucas and then Allie's rooms, making sure they were still sound asleep. She heard movement downstairs and thought Danielle must be up so she headed down the stairs. Callie found her in the kitchen making coffee.

"Hey," said Callie softly.

Danielle turned and smiled. "Hello. I hope you don't mind I was making some coffee for the road. I thought I'd get an early start unless you need me to stay."

"No, but everyone's still asleep. You'll miss saying goodbye." Callie took a seat at the island.

"I'm sure I'll see you all again soon. Erica okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. She was just exhausted," said Callie smiling.

"I'm glad she waited for you. I know in the past she would stay at the hospital if she was in that condition, but now with Lucas and Allie, I'm sure she would have tried to drive home."

Callie was surprised. It was common for her and Erica to talk about Lucas and Allie like they were a set, but no one else did that. She remembered how off it had sounded to her to hear Gretchen ask Erica how Lucas was doing and not mention Allie. She had even been on the verge of saying something snotty to Gretchen about it once before she realized that Gretchen did not really know Erica. How could she possibly know Erica's life now included Callie and Allie? Gretchen wasn't a part of Erica's personal life, no matter how much she liked to pretend she was.

But now Danielle was talking about them like they were a set, like they were family.

"Well I found her outside the hospital looking for her keys, so I'm pretty sure she would have attempted to drive home."

"Glad you found her," said Danielle. "Would you mind if I stole a to-go cup?" she asked Callie.

"Danielle, I'm sure Erica wouldn't mind. She has tons. Just don't take the one with the pink flower on it."

Danielle examined the cup Callie described. She gave Callie a look. "Okay, this doesn't really seem to be Erica's style, but whatever makes her happy."

Callie grimaced a little in embarrassment. "It's actually mine. I lent it to her on our first...um...kind of unofficial date, I guess? She's never given it back, so I think she likes it."

"Ah, well that explains it." said Danielle grabbing a different cup and pouring her coffee. She offered Callie a cup who accepted eagerly.

"This is such a beautiful house. You gals really have a nice home here," said Danielle as she stirred in cream and sugar.

"You do realize that this is Erica's house, right? Mine is across the street."

Danielle laughed. "Really? Allie must have a lot of stuff then. Her room here is packed with books and clothes and toys. How much stuff does she have across the street?"

"There's a fair amount of stuff, but..." Callie blushed thinking about the drawer full of her clothes upstairs. "I guess she and I have some things here."

"I'm just teasing you Callie. Yes, I know that technically this is Erica's house, but I don't know, being here yesterday with the kids, it felt like it was more like your home, you know the collective you, the four of you, then just Erica's house."

"I guess so. It um feels like that to me too, which is funny because I've been living in my house longer than Erica's been here. I mean I have almost 5 years in that house. It's just complicated I guess."

"It always is, but it makes sense that it would be this house that starts to feel like a home."

"How do you figure?" asked Callie.

"Because it's new to all of you. Your house is your house. You've had five years to make it your house. This house was new. There were all sorts of possibilities for this house because it was new to all of you. You're making this your home together."

"I had never thought of it like that." Callie took a sip from her coffee. "Thank you by the way."

"For what? Taking care of the kids? That's a given. I wish we weren't so far away so we could help out more, but you can tell Erica that I'm trying to convince Sam that we should move closer."

Callie shook her head. "No, I mean yes, for being here with them. Lucas doesn't really like the hospital, so we hate to have to bring them there, but no I meant thanks for seeing them like...well like we see them. Not a lot of people do. They're not related and a lot of times people feel the need to remind them of that. I think it upsets them sometimes. I think they like thinking of themselves as siblings."

"They are siblings no matter what idiotic people say. They've bonded like siblings. People will also see them like they see each other with time. Just keep doing what you're doing, because right now you and Erica are their world. No one else matters. As long as you see them as siblings, they'll be fine. The world can catch up later. I see it all the time with adoptions. The bond formed by siblings is strong even without a biological component."

Callie was listening intently.

"Danielle, what do you do exactly?"

Danielle laughed. "I'm a lawyer, specializing in family law, specifically lesbian and gay adoptions and custody cases."

"Ah"

"I handled Lucas's adoption and if you let anyone else handle Allie and Lucas when you're all ready to adopt each other I'll be pissed."

"Whoa, you're getting ahead of yourself. Erica and I are barely, you know, a couple."

"I have a sense about these things. Okay Callie, I think it's time I hit the road. Say goodbye to everyone for me," said Danielle as she hugged Callie hard.

Callie was surprised by the hug, but she accepted it gladly. She saw her out, remembering Erica's car at the last minute.

"God I hate to ask you this, but can you let me throw some clothes on and drop me off at the hospital so I can pick up Erica's car? It'll save us a trip later."

"No problem."

She threw a pair of scrub pants on and one of Erica's sweatshirts and ran out the door hoping she would make it back before the kids disturbed Erica.

As it turned out she made the trip in record time and felt she had enough time to run across the street and pick up ingredients for a special breakfast. Yeah, this was a special day for all of them and special days started with a special breakfast.

* * *

Erica was struggling through a thick fog that felt unexplainably heavy. It was weighing down her shoulders and making movement slow. Her legs felt the heaviness like extra strong gravity pulling her down. She wanted to shake it off, just push everything to the side and move into the light, away from the heavy fog. Finally the light was penetrating her waking consciousness and she felt her body becoming lighter. She was shaking her head, shielding her eyes from the harsh light that was piercing her vision. She tried to get a sense of her surroundings and slowly she recognized her bedroom. Well that was good. She noted the blankets at her feet, halfway to the floor. She sat up trying to order her hair and recall how she had gotten home. She saw towels and a hairbrush on the floor beside the bed and had no idea how they had gotten there.

She looked at her bed and frowned. That was weird. It looked like someone had slept next to her, but that was impossible. She must have moved a lot in the night. She got up and dressed. It was late. Who was with the kids? Right, Danielle must still be here, because there was no way they would have not woken her up by now. She tried dealing with her hair while trying to recall last night. Cement boy. She remembered Cement boy and panicked. She went in search of her pager. She found it in her discarded pants on the floor and checked it. Thankfully it had not gone off. That was a surgeon's worst nightmare – to sleep through a page. It had yet to happen to her.

God yesterday had been a long day. Deciding she looked presentable enough for small children, she reached for the door and walked out into the quiet hallway. No sound was coming from either bedroom. She smelled the faint aroma of coffee brewing. It almost smelled like the kind Callie made special. The smell of the coffee woke her appetite and so she took the steps two at a time. She reached the bottom step and almost tumbled as her brain performed a data dump and she remembered everything. She remembered her conversation with Callie before Cement boy, the parking lot, her bedroom. Fuck!

"Mom!" Lucas had noticed her and come running. "You're awake!" She picked him up.

"Hey Lucas! What are you guys doing out in the kitchen?"

'Aunt Cal's making special cinnamon pancakes. We're helping."

She felt tugging at her shirt and looked down.

"Hello princess," she stooped to pick up Allie as well. They were pretty heavy, but she thought she could at least make it to the kitchen.

So according to Lucas, it was Callie's coffee that she smelled. She should have known. Callie. She wondered what kind of reaction she would get from Callie this morning. She thought Callie had been a willing participant in last night's activities, but she hadn't been all there last night and she wondered if she had pushed Callie more than she would have under normal circumstances. She walked into the kitchen. The kids had been rambling, but it was one those conversations they had in which she didn't really have to say much. She set them down and Lucas immediately bolted for the chair Callie must have set for him at the island.

"Look Mom, I'm stirring. Aunt Cal says it's the most important part."

Erica looked at Callie carefully trying to read her face, trying to figure out if she had done something utterly stupid last night.

"Hey you, I thought you would sleep for a week," said Callie returning Erica's gaze with a wide smile. "I was just about to put these on the grill, but you have perfect timing. I need someone to stir this mixture and I'm out of stirrers. Al? Are you done mixing the filling?"

Allie had been standing next to Erica clutching her hand. Apparently for once Erica had been the one gone long enough to warrant some extra time with Allie. Allie usually did this with Callie. At Callie's prodding, Allie went into motion pulling Erica with her. Erica helped her onto her chair which had been placed across from Lucas and spared another glance at Callie who was still smiling. Callie walked over with a bowl of what looked like lots and lots of sugar, milk and some brown liquid. She placed the bowl in front of Erica and stood behind her, hands on Erica's waist as if positioning her. Erica allowed herself to be moved slightly.

"You get to stir this," she said in a very soft and sexy voice that Erica swore she must be imagining. "I need it nice and creamy when you're done, like icing."

Erica's head was swimming like a kid thrown into the deep end of the pool for the first time. She was frantically trying to recall a conversation. Callie and she must have talked last night. Otherwise the parking lot, the bedroom, especially the bedroom would not, could not have happened.

"Erica"

Had her name always sounded that sexy when Callie said it?

Callie's hand was on hers turning it palm up and flattening it. The touch was slow and sensual and Erica could feel Callie behind her, felt the hand at her waist pulling their bodies closer.

"Here's a spoon," Callie said as the warmth of Callie's hand was replaced with the rough texture of a wooden spoon.

"Come on Hahn, put those hands of yours to good use before the stuff congeals."

Callie stepped away and walked over to check out the contents of Allie and Lucas's bowls.

"Okay guys, you can go see what's on TV while I cook these pancakes you made. Go."

"Really?" asked Lucas as he jumped from his chair and raced for the living room not waiting for an answer.

Erica watched them go, a frown on her face. Callie hated Saturday morning television. She hated when Erica let them watch it claiming there weren't any good programs on.

"What's the occasion?' she asked. "Special complicated pancakes, Saturday morning cartoons. What gives Torres?"

Callie walked up to her hooking her fingers in Erica's pants and pulling her away from her task and the doorway.

"The cinnamon pancakes are because this is a special day. The cartoons are to get them out of the room."

She reached for Erica and just kissed her. It took Erica by surprise, but she had pretty good reaction times, so she went with it and kissed Callie back. Her memory had not done last night's events justice because this was the most wonderful feeling she had ever experienced. She felt Callie pulling away and wasn't ready. She brought her hands to Callie's face wanting to keep her there for an eternity. Realizing she might be coming on strong, she relaxed her hold. It was hard not to come on strong. She had been thinking about kissing Callie for a long time.

Callie pulled back slightly and smiled before whispering, "God, I get so lost in you," before going in for a second kiss. This one was impossibly sweeter, but way too short.

"Likewise," said Erica after Callie pulled away. Erica went in for a third kiss, but felt Callie's hands on her chest – and not in a good way.

"Whoa there honey, the kids could walk in any minute."

Erica stepped back perplexed by the comment. "That's a problem?"

Callie had given her a friendly squeeze before turning back to the pancakes and what Erica considered the hard part of pancake making – actually making them. She returned to her own task and wondered if Callie was going to answer her question. She had gone from bliss to kind of upset in a heartbeat. She started stirring faster needing to let out some of her nervous energy. Finally Callie spoke.

"Well yeah. Don't you think so too? They wouldn't understand it if they saw us. It might upset them."

"Why would it upset them? We're not doing anything wrong."

"I know that, but they won't understand. They'll start asking questions I don't think either of us is ready to answer."

Erica continued stirring away. She had never lied about who she was, not to her family, not to Lucas, not to anyone.

"Kids understand more than people think they do. If you present something to them as normal, they'll see it that way. It's only when you start hiding things or treating it as if it's not normal that they think it's weird." She stopped stirring. "If I was guy would we be having this conversation?"

Erica wanted to stop herself, knowing this was not the time to have this conversation. They hadn't even talked yet about what was happening and they were already fighting? Somehow that didn't seem right. But this was important, right?

"Lucas has seen Danielle and Sam being affectionate. He's never asked questions I wasn't prepared to answer."

Callie was pouring pancake batter on the grill. "Okay, but that's a little different. It's not his Mom and he's always known them as a couple, right?"

"Yes," answered Erica still standing with her arms crossed.

"But with us, well you are his mother and neither of the kids has known us like that. It's not a part of how they've seen us interact. You don't think that's going to take some explaining?"

Erica was watching her. Callie turned as she asked the last question still smiling that smile that seemed to make everything okay. Erica could not help but return the smile.

"Okay, I guess I can see that. So no kissing in front of the kids. Anything else I shouldn't be doing?"

Callie laughed. "Erica it's not a big deal. I just don't want to involve them in something that's still so, I don't know, new? I mean we haven't even talked yet."

Erica winced. Callie was right.

"I know. You're right. Sorry. I tend to get ahead of myself when it comes to you."

Callie smiled.

"By the way, Danielle left early this morning, but she was nice enough to drop me off at the hospital, so I could pick up your car. Very interesting woman that Danielle. You never told me she handled Lucas's adoption."

"She handled Lucas's adoption," Erica deadpanned looking at the contents of her bowl which had indeed turned nice and creamy after the vigorous stirring.

"Oh you're funny Hahn."

"Jesus how early did you get up this morn…." She stopped as she thought about what her bed had looked like this morning. How it had seemed that someone had slept on the other side.

"Did we spend the night together?" she asked.

She hated asking, wanted to remember herself. She had no idea what had happened. She had the memory of their heated make-out session and wondered how far they had gone.

"Yep, just you and me." Callie looked over at Erica and saw a look of fear cloud her face.

"Callie did we…"

Callie frowned. "Hey what's wrong?"

"I can't or I don't remember…"

Callie laughed. "Nothing happened. We slept. Erica seriously I know you're like superwoman and all, but both of us were way too exhausted. Plus, I would think when we do, you'll remember it."

Erica blushed. " I would certainly never want to forget that. Plus I'd hate to not be at my best."

"Right," said Callie feeling a flush of heat course through her body that had nothing to do with the stove she was standing next to.

"Anyway, how early were you up? You seemed to get a lot done this morning."

Callie gladly accepted the change in topic. "I didn't need as much sleep as you did although I'll need to get a nap in today if I expect to survive my shift tonight."

Erica set aside her bowl and just sat and watched Callie work her magic, thinking about their conversation. Callie was right. They hadn't talked yet. There was no need to let the kids see something that even they weren't sure about. Except that Erica was sure and she wanted Callie to be sure too, but that wasn't fair. She needed to put her fears to the side.

_Don't be stupid Erica. She kissed you. She obviously liked it. Just go with that and enjoy the rest of the day._

* * *

Continued in Chapter 16 – The beginnings of gay panic


	16. Chapter 16

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 16)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

_Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however._

**Author's Note:** Skirting the rating a little on this one. Angsty few chapters ahead… Have I mentioned how pissed off I am about Maine? Anyway…

* * *

Chapter 16

Callie found herself very busy on the Saturday night shift. Saturday nights tended to be busy nights for the Pit and Callie often started her shift there. Tonight she had only stepped foot in there for ortho consults. Cement boy needed constant monitoring and for some reason she had taken a special interest in him. Her charting had taken time and she'd had three referrals tonight from the Pit that had required her attention. All of which was good because being busy left her less time to think about Erica all alone in her big comfy bed and what they could be doing right now if Callie didn't have to be at the hospital. God leaving tonight had been torture.

Spending the day in the way they had had also been torture. She hadn't even napped during the day like she usually did, which she was sure would catch up to her tonight. But living for those few moments when she could have Erica to herself, when she felt free to touch her and kiss her like she wanted to had made her pretty useless for the day. They had managed to get some things done, but Callie had spent the moments in between kissing Erica, thinking about kissing Erica and how good that felt. She had managed breakfast which had pretty much rocked, but could not summon up enough concentration to cook dinner, so they had made due with Chinese take-out, a favorite of Erica's.

But once the kids were in bed, something had happened. It was as if a dam had broken. They had managed to make it downstairs and into the living room before the heavy make-out session began. Callie's heart was beating uncontrollably as she walked behind Erica down the stairs, not knowing what she should expect. She had followed her into the living room and then just stood there seeing Erica turn around and stare at her. Their eyes had held for a moment before all thoughts except one were completely pushed into the background.

_They __had reached for each other simultaneously. Their kisses were hot and wet and hungry. She felt herself falling on the couch. Erica had managed to catch herself somehow before she fell directly on top of Callie, but never broke the kiss. She hovered over Callie for awhile, the weight of her upper body braced by her arms, but Callie wanted her closer, so she pulled her on top of her completely. Thank God the couch was big. The passionate kissing had continued for many minutes and Callie had been so lost in it. She felt a sensation on her side that caused her body to arch up into Erica. Erica's hand was running up and down Callie's side brushing her breast, her thigh and all the parts in between. _

_Suddenly Erica pulled herself away from Callie's lips and whispered in Callie's ear._

_"Callie, we...can't...you need to....get to the hospital." It took her forever to get the sentence out, her heavy breathing and kissing of Callie's neck kept interfering._

_C__allie wanted to respond. She had wanted to agree, but she felt Erica's knee between her legs and just moaned at the sensation. Everything this woman did drove her ape-shit. Erica returned to Callie's mouth, she moved causing her leg to increase the pressure between Callie's thighs. Callie's hands seemed to have minds of their own. She was pulling Erica to her, wanting to increase the pressure. Her hips were moving involuntarily. Erica pulled her mouth away again, but did not remove her leg. _

_"Callie, we really need to...." She was sucking on Callie's neck making her way down to her chest. "We need to...."_

_"Please don't say stop," said Callie. "Please don't...Please don't stop," she was pleading. God this woman made her feel so good. Erica kissed her again and pulled her leg away. Callie whimpered in confusion. "Erica don't..."_

_Erica's hand found Callie's pants undoing them expertly. "I'm not stopping," she said in between kisses. "I could never stop." _

_Her hand caressed Callie__'s abdomen until her fingers grazed her underwear. She gentled her kisses and then pulled back. "Please tell me you want this," Erica had said in a shaky voice._

_And Callie did._

* * *

"Hey Callie!"

George had come up to her in the middle of her reminiscing. He was all sunny smiles and a friendly voice, but she had been startled nevertheless.

"Hey," she said looking away. She cleared her throat. "Need anything?" she asked still not looking at him.

She didn't need him to see any traces of what she had been thinking about. It had been hurried and quick and they hadn't really even taken any clothes off, but it had felt so good. And afterward as they said their goodbyes, Erica had told her she loved her, and the goodbye had been torture.

"No, no," he said shyly not looking at her either. He frowned. "I um...wanted to talk to you about something."

"Can you make it quick? I have to go back to Cement boy."

"Sure, I know, you're busy. I wanted to talk to you about Hahn."

* * *

Erica was on the couch trying to concentrate on the most common orthopedic procedures in her general surgery textbook. She had pulled it from her collection of books from med school. She had done an ortho rotation during her residency but it had bored her. Now she found herself with a new found interest in the field. Callie loved her job, got the same excitement from fixing bones that Erica felt for fixing hearts and lungs. Erica had chosen cardiothoracic surgery in part because it was the most competitive and the most exciting and she liked to compete. She also liked the finesse required. The delicate steady hands necessary for cardiothoracic surgery was an art. Orthopedics involved big tools and drills and did not call for as much finesse. It required strength and measurements and a sense for structure she didn't have.

She had pulled out the book with two purposes in mind. First she thought it might give her a sense of Callie. She wanted to know what had drawn her to the field. Callie was brilliant and she knew her stuff. She had been impressed with her before, but working with her during the Cement boy trauma had exposed her to yet another side of Callie. She had behaved like an attending, even more so than Bailey who was as respected as any attending. But Bailey was essentially a manager. She was more like Webber. She was a great surgeon with a brilliant mind, but what she did best was organize people, get people to work together. Erica wasn't a manager. Neither was Shepherd or Sloan. They were excellent surgeons who looked after the patient with everything they had.

That was why they had all ended up arguing with each other at the start of the trauma. Each attending was advocating in their own way for their patient and Callie had been in there doing the same thing, fighting for that boy's legs just like any of the other attendings. She hadn't really been surprised to see her there. Samson was the head of Callie's department, but in Erica's experience the guy was useless. They had some decent attendings in the department. Callie had assured her of that, but the guy was hard to work for and the so the good ones didn't stick around. He was stuck in the past sometimes insisting on old outdated procedures. Callie said she tried to stay out of his way and just went about doing her thing.

Erica knew Callie's residency was almost over. She couldn't imagine that Webber did not already have plans to hire her as an attending. But if not, she would make sure she put the idea into his head. If they wanted to rise in the rankings of teaching hospitals, they needed to maintain a high integrity in all surgical departments. Callie would go a long way toward helping them achieve that goal. And it meant she got to stay in Seattle. She had to remember to talk to Callie about her plans tomorrow.

The other reason she had brought down the old volume was because she remembered it was a subject that had bored her and she was looking for something that might help her sleep. After the events of the day, she needed some serious in that area.

They had eaten their cinnamon pancakes which turned out to be a cross between pancakes and cinnamon rolls. Callie sandwiched two pancakes with some kind of nutty cinnamon mixture in the middle complete with vanilla drizzle to top it off. It was heavenly. The rest of the day had passed in a surreal blissful existence that Erica had not been expecting. It was marred only by the fact that Callie had to work the late shift. They had never gotten the chance to talk. Erica remembered the urgency with which she had wanted to talk about what was happening between them last night. Today however, there seemed to be no need.

They had spent the day normally with laundry, running errands, doing some light cleaning, having meals together, and finding ways to entertain the kids. Callie especially seemed anxious to get the kids occupied enough to give the two of them some alone time. And she never passed on the opportunity to kiss Erica when they did find themselves alone. It had happened so frequently and with increasing intensity that Erica was one big ball of sexual energy, ready to combust at the slightest touch by the end of the night.

They had put the kids to sleep at their normal bedtime, which left them twenty solid minutes before Callie had to leave for her shift at the hospital. They walked down the stairs together. Erica had been grateful that Callie had to leave. She was fairly certain that if Callie stayed they would not be able to deny their physical need to be together and it was probably too soon for that. She didn't think they were really ready for that no matter how hot their kisses had been getting throughout the day.

They had made it down the stairs and managed a few seconds of just staring at each other before they started kissing frantically. The sporadic make-out sessions during the day had been too much and they had not been able to stop.

Erica remembered one last attempt, hand at the top of Callie's underwear, wanting to make sure Callie wanted this before proceeding. "Please tell me you want this," she had said in a shaky voice.

_"I want this," Callie had assured her. "I want you." _

_Erica had wished they weren't on the couch__, that she had time to explore, but they weren't and she didn't, but she wanted this. She wanted to touch Callie so very much._

_Her hand made a slow trek down __to Callie's most intimate parts and felt Callie's intake of breath._

_"Erica,__" Callie's hips arched upwards. "Yes," she kept repeating driving Erica crazy. She moved all the way down following Callie's natural curve until she was inside. _

_"Callie you feel incredible." _

_She __was slow at first in her movement even though they had little time, but she needed it to start slow, she needed to feel Callie all over. It was driving her crazy though and she was close to losing it altogether. Callie was moving with her, enjoying the slow pace. She quickened and felt Callie match her. Every stroke, every plunge made her gasp. She increased the pace faster than she wanted to, which brought everything to a new level of excitement._

_Callie was moving, panting. Her eyes were closed but she was reaching for Erica as she __crested and finally tumbled into oblivion. _

It had been wonderful and scary. She realized then and there how completely gone she was on this woman. She didn't know what would happen if Callie chose to walk away from them. She had wanted Callie, had been wanting her for so long. To have Callie there and as exited and eager as she was still made her body tingle and her heart thump wildly. Unfortunately it had been rushed, too fast, a teenage romp on the couch which had left Erica wanting. She had been satisfied for a few minutes before passions flared again at the door as they said their goodbyes.

She was overcome with emotions and she barely noticed the words she spoke as she stood at the door cupping Callie's face in hers, staring into those gorgeous brown eyes and whispering, "I love you."

Callie had blinked rapidly, she remembered before kissing her again soft and slow. Erica was not expecting anything in return, she hadn't expected to reveal her own heart so quickly, but her heart thumped wildly at the emotions playing out in Callie's eyes when they pulled back from the kiss.

"You are so special Erica and you make me feel so special."

And then she had kissed her again, lightly this time. Callie had stepped back taken a deep breath and walked to her car. She had reached her car door and lingered as she unlocked it, her eyes locked on Erica's for a full minute before she succumbed to responsibility and opened her car door.

Yes, she wanted Callie again and again and again. For the moment she felt that she would get her opportunity, there would many more opportunities to have Callie.

She had leaned against the door after watching Callie drive away and thought about her impossible fantasy, the one that had started shortly after meeting Callie. That improbable desire she had that they be a family was coming over to the side of things probable. For a moment she thought it was unreal. There was no way this was within her grasp. But their activities on the couch seemed like proof positive. Evidence of what had happened was on her pants and hands. She smiled as she made her way upstairs and to a cold shower, counting the hours until Callie's return.

But the cold shower had only dulled her need and her heart, mind and body were too stimulated for sleep. So she had wandered down to her study intent on finding either something that would give her insight into the woman she had fallen in love with or bore her enough to sleep. At midnight she was still awake and still counting the hours until Callie's return. She put the book down and went to bed hoping her physical proximity to a bed would invoke sleepiness.

* * *

"You wanna talk about Erica? Why?" said Callie pushing her recollections further from her mind.

"Well…" he smiled awkwardly. "I um didn't know you and... Hahn were you know...um...an item."

That made her turn and look at him sharply all traces of the sexy haze she had been in gone.

"No one knows," she said looking around nervously. "I mean we're not keeping it a secret, it's just that well it's pretty new, I mean no one knows."

He seemed surprised. "Oh, Oh yeah, okay."

"No one should know," she said a little more forcefully. "Who told you?"

"No one, no one. I um...saw you last night, you know in the parking lot." He laughed softly. "I couldn't believe it was you, but there you were."

"Yeah, well that was the first time..." she stopped. She didn't want to share this with anyone yet, but especially not him. "I don't want this to be a part of the rumor mill around here. Can you just keep this to yourself?"

"Sure, sure. I understand. It was just surprising. I mean I didn't know you...swung that way."

"I don't..." She was struggling with how much to tell him.

He had been a friend at some point, more than a friend at others and no matter how their brief involvement had ended, she knew he wasn't a bad guy, but she and Erica hadn't even talked yet. They had been too busy with other things, like having hot sex on the couch. She didn't want to explain how complex everything was to him. She had liked being with Erica, loved it actually wanted to repeat it with less clothes, on a bed and with a little more time than they'd had tonight. She didn't know if that made her gay, hadn't really wanted to think about what it all meant.

"This is new George. I don't know what it means," she said hoping whatever curiosity he had would be satisfied.

"Oh okay," he paused. His eyes were on the counter, but she could tell he had more to say. "I just was surprised that you would even consider....it. I mean I didn't think you'd risk Allie like that."

"What are you talking about?" she asked a hint of anger tainting the words.

"Well, I mean this is something David could use against you to try and take away Allie."

"What?"

"Think about it Callie. Relationship with a woman? Not exactly considered wholesome."

"He doesn't have a leg to stand on. Besides there are plenty of lesbians that get custody of their children."

"Sure, sure. Yeah, you're right. Bur are _you_ a lesbian?" he asked uncomfortably.

"I don't … I don't think so, but I don't know what all of this means yet."

"Well I don't understand. Why risk it? Why risk your daughter on a relationship that isn't going to go anywhere?"

"George, I don't want to have this conversation with you. You gave up any right to say anything to me about me or my daughter when you decided you didn't want to be a daddy. Remember? I'm not a lesbian, I'm not, but my relationships are private and they're mine. You don't get a say."

She slammed the chart she had been clutching and walked away. He went after her.

"Callie wait," he reached for her arm as he caught up with her. Reluctantly she stopped, jerking her arm out of his hand and crossing it with her other arm across her chest.

"What?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm not trying to judge, I was just surprised. You don't...You're a great mom and I was just surprised to see you take that risk I know it's none of my business. I just thought maybe you should think about all the consequences before starting something that has no future. But I have no right. I understand that. We were friends once. I was just trying to be a friend."

He patted her on her arm and walked away.

Callie was pissed. He had ruined her incredible mood and made sure the rest of the night would suck. She retraced her steps picked up the chart she had discarded harshly and finished the task she had started before George had laid out some harsh truths for her to consider.

And as pissed as she was at him, there was truth in what he was saying. She wasn't gay, had never even had a stray thought in that direction until she met Erica. What was she doing? Acting on a whim? Why Erica? Why had she all of sudden felt this incredible attraction to Erica? Maybe she needed to think about that before rushing into anything. She had rushed into the thing with George letting her heart get ahead of her mind. She'd had an image of a nice perfect little family with George, had been excited about how holidays would change with him, in the picture, how she would have someone to share Allie's up and downs with. They hadn't made it to one holiday.

Was she doing the same thing with Erica? She certainly knew she had those wishes and more. She had even started imagining them living together. Danielle hadn't been that far off really. The unspoken part of seeing Allie and Lucas as siblings of course was that they had two moms, that they were all some sort of family unit. She knew that there were all kinds of families and that not all families had a mom and dad and that some families are made by people who love and care for each other and that romantic relationships don't always come into play. But she hadn't seen Erica and her as just two friends raising two kids together. She had actually thought about them together and when she thought of their family, it wasn't just Lucas and Allie that were a set. She saw her and Erica being together, very much romantically together. But maybe this thing with Erica had nothing to do with attraction or romance. Maybe she was still reaching for that perfect fantasy that she had had since she found out she was pregnant with Allie. She wanted a family and maybe Erica was just filling that role. Callie wasn't gay; she was pretty sure of it. So then why? Why get involved? Maybe George was right.

She needed to think everything through before leaping because if things didn't work out, it would be ugly and it wouldn't just impact them. There was Lucas and Allie to consider in all of this. Maybe she would talk to Erica tomorrow.

But as the night progressed she sank deeper into depression. Image after image of all the ways David could come after her filled her head. Her shift had started out busy, but the last few hours had been dull and that meant long stretches of time when she thought of nothing else but how a relationship with Erica was a bad idea. How would her family react? Her friends? They had known her in one way and now she was going to be claiming to be this other person, this person that had fallen…that was with a woman. Would they understand? Would they reject her? She had lost a lot of friends when she became pregnant. Most of her friends were in med school and did not understand what she was going through. They saw her throwing away her career, her life when she decided to go through with it. She knew she hadn't been, but this, in this she would be changing her whole orientation. She didn't know if she could do that.

Right now everything was new and exciting and there was just the raw giddiness that Erica made her feel. But relationships, long-term relationships like the one she wanted to have were not all giddy excitement. Could she have something long-term with Erica, put up with the social ostracizing she was sure to experience in some form or another? Could she risk David using this against her? Could she risk losing Allie? No. Nothing was worth losing Allie.

By the end of the night she was no closer to figuring out what to do. With a heavy heart she got into her car and drove home. She parked the car in her driveway and got out, looking longingly at the house across the street. She wondered if Erica would be up. Their usual Sunday routine was to spend the day together doing something fun. Erica would let her nap until the kids woke up and then she would have breakfast with them before going back to sleep while Erica took them out for some distraction. She brought them back in time for lunch and they would spend the rest of the day together. She began walking towards the house still unsure of what she was going to do. She considered just talking to Erica, but when she unlocked the door to find Erica standing there waiting for her, her hands in her pockets looking excited and happy, she felt the need to run. She couldn't be around Erica. Being around her clouded everything, made all the complications fade to the background like meaningless props and she needed those complications front and center. She couldn't do this, needed time to think. God how was she going to explain that to this wonderful woman standing in front of her?

* * *

Continued in Chapter 17 – Coming up next: Gay panic fall-out and angst


	17. Chapter 17

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 17)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** A difficult day after for Callie and Erica.

* * *

Chapter 17

Callie was sitting on her couch trying to read. She had started out with an old AMA journal she had been meaning to check out. Finding that not distracting enough, she had picked up a David Sedaris book Christina had recommended last Christmas, but she wasn't in the right mood for David Sedaris, so she moved on to her _People_ magazine. Allie had been good all morning. She had been grumpy when Callie had picked her up from Erica's at a ridiculously early hour, but she had been tired enough that she had fallen directly to sleep again once they got home.

She had asked when they were walking over to Erica's for breakfast and when breakfast came and went, she began to ask when Erica and Lucas were coming over. She had stopped asking about an hour ago. Either she was satisfied with Callie's response or she was sick of hearing the same short answer from Callie: _No, not today._ They weren't going to see Lucas and Erica today.

Allie was currently playing with Lego's in the living room. They were probably Lucas's Lego's, but the kids had mixed their toys so much, it was hard to tell. Allie usually made buildings, experimenting with how high she could get a structure before it collapsed, but this morning she was trying her hand at some sort of humanoid thing that looked a little like the robotic creations Lucas usually tried to build.

Callie looked up from her magazine and towards her living room windows, trying not to think of what was going on across the street. To say Erica had been surprised when Callie showed up this morning after her shift stuttering about being tired and wanting some time to just think everything over was an understatement. Callie had tried not to look at her as she stumbled through words in her attempt at an explanation, but it was hard not to see the shock and confusion in Erica's eyes. The silence was worse than any anger she might have been expecting.

Erica had not said anything as Callie rushed through her words, telling her she was just going to get Allie and go home. She thought she might have said something about calling Erica later before darting up the stairs. She had packed up some of Allie's stuff hurriedly and then just picked her up, pajamas and all, and made her way down the stairs. Erica was still standing in the same spot. She had been standing in the space between the front door and the stairs leading to the second floor when Callie had come in and was rooted to the same spot, her hands still in her pockets, looking perplexed and unsure when Callie had departed.

George's words had rattled Callie, but he had a point. There were things at stake. She couldn't just go into this thing with Erica blindly. There were risks with every relationship, but being ostracized because of who you were involved with was not something she had dealt with before. Friends and family were one thing, but having the State interfere with her life because of her relationship was not something she was willing to risk. David was unstable and manipulative and not above using her relationships to try and get money out of her or generally make her life hell. She couldn't risk that. Besides, she wasn't gay, so really why risk everything on something she wasn't really sure about anyway?

She knew she liked Erica, really liked her, but what if it was just the situation that was making her have all of these feelings? Maybe this pseudo family they had created was making her see the two of them as a couple. It was not about them, it was about roles. It was nice and comfortable to have someone to share things with and she and Erica seemed to be sharing everything lately.

Of course that didn't explain why she had really liked kissing her. It didn't explain her body's reaction to just being near Erica. It didn't explain the pure unadulterated desire she had felt Saturday night on Erica's couch. Tossing the magazine aside, she reached for the phone. She needed to talk this out with someone.

She dialed a number by heart.

"Are you calling Aunt Erica and Lucas?" asked Allie excitedly. "Are they coming over?"

"No sweetie. I'm calling your Uncle Diego. You wanna say hi?"

That seemed to distract Allie. She jumped to her feet. "Yeah," she said as she sat next to Callie on the couch. Callie waited to hear her brother's voice.

"Hey Sis! What's up?"

"Hey, your niece wants to say hi. I'm putting her on the phone." She handed the phone to Allie who grabbed it awkwardly with one hand, struggling with it for a bit before putting it to her ear.

"Uncle Diego?" she asked tentatively.

Callie let them chat for a minute before telling Allie to say good bye and taking the phone from her.

"She misses you, you know," said Callie into the phone.

"I miss her too. You could move to D.C. then you'd be closer."

"You could move to Seattle."

It was an old joke between them.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you, but you need to keep this to yourself. I hate it when my stuff gets on the family grapevine."

"Okay," he responded.

"I'm serious Diego. Do not share this with anyone, especially Dad. I don't need that right now."

"Right, cause we're on speaking terms now? Come on Callie. Cut the drama and just talk."

"I met someone." She paused, waiting for his reaction.

"Okay"

She waited for more.

"Callie? You still there?"

"Yeah, I was just... Don't you have anything else to say?"

"What do you want me to say? It's great? I don't know if it's great. The last time you told me you met someone it was that creep George and that wasn't so great, so you'll have to give me more than I met someone."

She sighed. "Okay...It's a...I mean she's a girl."

"You met a girl? I don't understand...."

Callie counted to 15 before she heard him again.

"Oh...um...You met someone as in you met a girl."

"Yeah"

"Do you mean you met a new friend or do you mean I met someone as in a romantic someone and it's a girl?"

"The second thing."

"Really? Must be some girl. Wow! Okay, cool!"

"Cool? That's all you have to say?"

"Hey, I said she must be some girl."

"That's it?"

"Callie, seriously, I'm not sure what you want from me."

"Yeah, I'm not sure myself. Hold on a sec Diego. Allie?" she said raising her voice. Allie was heading for the stairs with her Lego creations.

"I'm getting more Legos," Allie responded.

"Okay, sweetie," said Callie as she watched her climb the stairs.

Callie returned to Diego and his lack of a response. She had forgotten how difficult it was to have conversations like this with boys.

"You aren't freaked out?" she asked.

"Why would I be freaked out? I like girls too. Is she hot?"

"Yes"

"Wicked cool."

"Shut up."

"Okay, so what's this hot chick like? Hold up...is her name Erica?"

"How did you..."

"Your kid was just talking to me about Aunt Erica this and Lucas that. I was wondering who they were. So who is this Lucas person?"

"He's Erica's son. He's seven. They live across the street. We share a nanny."

"Naughty," he said.

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not gay," she blurted out wanting to get the conversation back to what she needed to talk to him about.

"Um...doesn't the whole liking a girl thing make you a little gay?"

"No, I'm not gay."

"Callie I think liking girls when you're a girl makes you kinda gay."

"I don't like girls. I just like one girl."

"Okay," he said slowly. "So you like this one girl. What about her? Does she just like one girl or is she gay?"

"She's gay. We work together at the hospital. She lives across the street, we share a nanny and it seems a couple of kids."

"What the...run that by me again."

She told him all about it, how they spent all their free time together, how it was easy and comfortable and just nice, how happy Erica made her.

"We spend a lot of time together. We help each other out with everything and have just kind of been making this kind of life together that's…nice." Her voice had gone soft.

"So, what's the problem exactly?"

"I told you, I'm not gay!"

"We're going in circles here, Cal. Either you want to be involved with her or not. Which is it?"

"I don't know. Yesterday I would have said yes, but...."

"So what's different about today?"

"Today... Well let's see there is the whole, I'm not gay thing."

"Wasn't that true yesterday too?"

"Yes, but yesterday I was distracted by the hot sex."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! TMI, big sister, TMI. You had sex?"

"Yeah, really good hot sex."

"La, La, La La. I'm not listening!"

"You asked," she countered.

"My bad. So what's with the obsession with being gay or not being gay?"

"Well it pretty much freaks me out because… what kind of a future can I possibly hope to have with someone of the same sex when I'm not gay? It's bound to end, right?"

"Callie," he said softly, but with a hint of disbelief in his voice as if he was questioning her reasoning.

"Then there's the whole, what if David finds out and sues me for custody again. Up until now I haven't really given him anything he could use against me, but if I do this, he could come after Allie."

Diego laughed. "You're kidding right? The guy is a drug dealer! They never nailed him on the drug charges, but that's just a matter of time. He has convictions on his record for other things. He's been in and out of rehabs, which frankly I've been trying to get those idiots in Boston to investigate. I think he uses the places to make connections and sell more drugs. Plus, you live in Washington Callie! No judge is going to take Allie away from you because you're involved with a woman, unless she's nuts or something. She's not, right?"

"She's one of the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the world, so that would be a big no. But what about Allie? I'm not sure how Allie would feel about all of this. She loves Erica and Lucas, but she doesn't understand adult relationships yet. I mean how will this affect her? Ugh! I hate this!"

"Frankly, I don't see a problem, sis."

"I just handed you a list of problems!"

"No, you just listed all the reasons why you don't want to be involved with her, which to me says that you don't really want to be with her. When I like someone, really like them, it's hard for me to come up with reasons why we can't be together. In fact, I end up ignoring all the reasons we shouldn't be together. You did the same thing with George, remember?"

"But...I....we kissed and we, you know and…. I liked it."

"Well, maybe you're just desperate. Have you been dating?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"I don't know, maybe you're just… I don't know, she's there and gay and you like her and maybe she's just convenient."

"She is not just convenient."

"Are you sure? Think about it. You spend all this time with someone who you like - forget the romantic part for a second - it sounds like you just like her as a person. You guys spend all this time together and she's gay and hot and available. Maybe you're just channeling some energy her way because she's the person you spend so much time with and she's receptive. Like I said, you didn't call me to tell me I met this person and these are all the reasons I want to be with her. You called and gave me a list of reasons you couldn't be with her. Maybe that should tell you something."

Callie was silent. She was hearing him, but she wasn't listening or rather she didn't want to listen. He wasn't saying what she wanted to hear. She didn't want to hear that what she was feeling for Erica was merely desperation. Erica wasn't just convenient; she could never be just convenient. It didn't feel like that. Mark had been convenient. She knew what that felt like.

"Callie?"

"Yeah I'm here."

"I'm sorry sis. I get the feeling that's not what you wanted to hear, but for what it's worth, it's not fair to her for you to pursue this because it's convenient or easy. If you're her friend, don't lead her on if you're not ready to be in a relationship with her. You should figure out what you really want before you decide to move forward with this."

"I know. Don't worry I've put the brakes on it. Thanks. I'll um talk to you later."

"You okay?"

"No, but I'll figure it out."

"Cal...look, I don't know anything about her or what kind of relationship the two of you have. Maybe I'm wrong about all of this."

_I think I might be in love with her. _

"It wouldn't be the first time," she said trying to sound playful and push away the one thought that was complicating everything, but kept popping into her head. She wasn't successful.

"Just forget everything I said..." he said trying to backtrack.

"No, I heard you." She had gotten up to look out the window seeing movement across the street. Erica was out there with her bicycle. Callie stood watching her as she talked.

"You're right Diego. I have to figure this out before I or we get involved in anything. It's not just me and her. We have to think about Allie and Lucas too."

Callie watched Erica toss her bike in the back of her new SUV almost carelessly. She had recently purchased it trading in her Mercedes for what she had called a more Mom friendly vehicle.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Seriously sis, don't listen to anything I've said. What do I know? I mean if you like her, you should go for it. You have kind of taken some pretty big steps in that direction already."

Erica had disappeared momentarily but returned with a smaller bike Callie recognized as Lucas's. She tossed that in the back with a little more care.

_I love her, but it's complicated._

"Don't worry about it, Diego. You've given me something to think about."

"Cal?"

"I'll be fine Diego. Thanks."

She hung up still watching the scene outside. Allie had gone up to her room, which was good because she would have pitched a fit seeing Lucas and Erica with their bikes. Lucas was out on the driveway now, holding his jacket, a backpack on his small little shoulders. He was walking to the edge of the driveway, so close to the street that Callie almost sprinted for the door wanting to stop him. But he turned around before he got there, apparently Erica had been watching him too. He ran back to Erica jumping up and down in front of her and pointing across the street. Erica knelt down removing the backpack and putting his jacket on. Her lips were moving and given what she had just seen, Callie guessed Erica was doing her best to explain why Allie would not be coming wherever they were going. She would have been attempting to make the same explanations to Allie had she been here.

Finally she watched Erica buckle Lucas in, get in the driver's side and pull out of the driveway. Her heart felt heavy. The conversation with Diego had turned her stomach. She needed to figure out this gay thing. If nothing else, she needed to give Erica some sort of explanation as to what had happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

* * *

The drop off that night was very, very awkward. Callie had started to worry earlier in the evening that Erica was pissed enough at her that she wouldn't come back from Bentley in time to take Allie. Somewhere in her day, she had decided that she was being overly dramatic. She should have just spoken to Erica this morning and explained things. Erica would have understood and they could have had their normal Sunday. Instead she had chickened out, given Erica some lame excuse and run away.

She had resolved to call Erica, invite her and Lucas for dinner and talk this thing out, but before she could get up the courage to dial the number, the hospital called and asked her to come in. By the time her shaky hands punched the familiar numbers to Erica's cell she knew a dinner invitation would sound lame since it would appear to Erica that she had an ulterior motive. Being called in for an extra overnight shift had ruined everything.

The conversation with Erica had been difficult. She knew Erica had wanted to talk about what had happened, but Callie didn't want to do it on the phone, so she had deflected. And then Erica began apologizing and Callie wanted to cry. She didn't want to hear an apology, didn't want to hear Erica express regret for something they had both wanted yesterday. But her worse fear was that Erica would tell her they needed to pull back entirely, that they needed to end the friendship. She didn't want to hear that, not yet, not ever, so she had hurriedly asked Erica if she could take Allie tonight, effectively ending any discussion of what happened this morning.

She had made a quick dinner for her and Allie who had been unusually quiet the whole day. They had both seemed to move through the day in silence. By the time they had finished their dinner, Erica's car had finally appeared in the driveway across the street and it was time to walk over. Allie seemed surprised she was going to get to go over, and suddenly she was noisy again running around grabbing things she wanted to bring over and wondering out loud what Erica and Lucas had done all day. She packed a ridiculous amount of things in her small backpack, including the Lego sculptures she had worked on throughout the day. Callie gathered her own things and together they left the house and made their way across the street.

She knocked instead of using her key half afraid Erica would demand she give the key back if she used it. She stood nervously waiting longer than usual for the door to be opened, which had her wondering if Erica would actually answer the door at all. She didn't. It was Lucas who opened the door jumping into her arms as soon as he saw her, kissing her before squirming out of her arms again then pulling Allie with him, and dragging her somewhere upstairs. Erica was nowhere to be seen.

Callie walked in unsure of what kind of reception she was going to get. She closed the door behind her, set Allie's backpack down and listened. Except for the movement upstairs, the house seemed quiet. She walked past the living room and dining room and into the kitchen. No Erica. She walked to the study, stopping to make sure the bathroom was empty as well. No Erica.

There was no other place for her to hide, so she went to the stairs and looked up. Obviously Erica did not want to see her, but Callie needed to make sure she was here. Suddenly Erica was just there at the top of the stairs looking down, but not directly at Callie.

"You're going to be late if you don't get going," said Erica. Her hands were in her pockets. She looked the same as she had that morning when Callie had left her, minus the perplexed look which had been replaced with a more guarded one.

"I just wanted to make sure you were here," said Callie. She cursed herself as soon as she heard the words play in her head.

"Right, because I'm in the habit of leaving Lucas here alone," said Erica before turning and walking away.

"Erica, I didn't mean...." but the rest of the words she had intended to say died before she could get the complete sentence out. She was staring at the empty place where Erica had been, wanting to go after her. She couldn't. She had to get to work and even if she could follow her, she really didn't know what she would say once she was face to face with her; so she forced herself to step away and walked out the door.

* * *

Erica went to check on the kids, hoping Callie would take a hint and leave. They were playing happily and even though they had school tomorrow, they hadn't seen each other all day, so she had already resolved to let them stay up just a little past their bedtime.

They were in Lucas's room playing with Lego's.

"Hey guys? You get an hour and then bedtime, okay?"

"Okay Mom," said Lucas not looking up from his Lego's.

She left the door open and walked downstairs fairly certain now that Callie had left.

She sat at her computer and logged onto the hospital server, working on files and articles and trying to distract herself from the disaster with Callie. It was slow going. The distractions were not complicated enough to thwart her mind's desire to think and obsess about what had happened. Finally, a little before the hour she logged off and went upstairs.

* * *

It had been hard getting them to bed. They hadn't wanted to go, had fought her every step of the way. Finally she relented and let them both sleep in Lucas's room. He still had bunk beds, a suggestion Danielle had made when she was trying to get custody, bunk beds seemed to please social workers.

She was now on the couch drinking coffee with no distractions. She hated to think about it, felt like she didn't have enough information, but she needed to figure out how she was going to act. This was not your normal "break-up". It probably wasn't even a break-up. A few kisses, some heated make-out sessions, and quick amateur sex on the couch over two days (or was it just one) did not make for a romantic relationship, but nevertheless they had crossed a line that Callie obviously wanted to take back, and so Erica needed to figure out how she was going to act now.

But instead of thinking about how she should act, her mind kept coming back to the question that had plagued her all day: What the hell had happened? She thought Callie was okay with everything. She thought everything that had happened was mutual. Sure she had been a little out of control in the bedroom that first night when her thinking was foggy, but she had stopped as soon as Callie had asked her to slow down. Callie had asked her not to stop on the couch.

_Come on Hahn, you know exactly what happened. She tried it, satisfied her curiosity, and decided she didn't like it. That or she's freaked about you telling her you love her_.

She wanted to hang on to that second one. If it was that, there was still hope. But part of her was afraid that it was more than that, that Callie's fears weren't just about how fast Erica was moving by telling her she loved her. She was afraid Callie had indeed not liked it, was having second thoughts about the whole girl on girl thing. And that meant something totally different. She felt a headache coming on.

_Great. _

She closed her eyes and thought about seeing Callie that morning. She had been such an idiot, waiting for her by the door like some expectant obsessive lover. She had been standing there, hands in her pockets, wanting to kiss her and looking for that smile Callie had been giving her the day before, that smile that said everything was okay, that Callie was exactly where she wanted to be. She didn't get the smile.

She got the shifting eyes and the stuttering mouth instead. She got the uncomfortable Callie and that had made her heart drop into her stomach. She heard the words, "I just need time" and tried to put a positive spin on them. _Of course you need time. Your life has just changed. This is big._ She had meant to say the words out loud, but her throat hurt. It felt blocked somehow and the words did not get out. She heard the next words about getting Allie and going home and had tried desperately to put a positive spin on that. She couldn't and so she had been left standing there as Callie practically ran up the stairs.

She had stood there thinking she should move, but she was frozen in place, hands still in her pockets. She finally let out a breath. She had to think of something to say. But her mind went blank as soon as she saw Callie at the top of the stairs again, a very sleepy child in her arms. She watched Callie descend the steps and felt her body shaking. She clenched her fists in her pockets to quell the tremors and watched Callie walk out of her house.

She had stood there for a full ten minutes after Callie left not thinking, just trying to breath. Finally she unclenched her fists, removed her hands from her pockets and returned to the couch. She had thought about walking across the street wanting desperately to know what was happening. But Callie had made it clear she needed time and obviously space. Okay, Erica could give her that for now.

_She's just freaking out. It doesn't mean she regrets it. It's not over yet. She just needs time._

She had tried to keep those words playing over and over in her head all day to ward off the panic that was starting to build.

The rest of the day had passed in a big blur. She felt empty. She went through the motions. She had explained to Lucas that Allie and her Mommy wanted to spend some alone time together, but that had made him sad because why would they not include him? She had answered as best she could, telling him that it was an opportunity for the two of them to have some alone time too. He hadn't bought it and so she had focused her attentions not on explanations he would not accept, but on distractions. She played Lego's with him and wrestled with him and finally suggested a bike ride.

It was risky suggesting an activity that Allie would usually be invited to. She had tried her lame explanation again and then attempted to distract him by suggesting a trip to Bentley and Aunts Danielle and Sam, who had helped entertain him for the rest of the day. It was a good trip. She had managed to thwart Danielle's questions for awhile, not sure she was ready to talk about what had happened. But when Lucas went down for his nap, there was no ignoring her. So she had sat across from Danielle and Sam nervously flipping her phone over and over in her hand.

_She'd been holding the phone for most of the day, hoping that Callie would call and explain things to her. She had promised to call, but the phone had been silent. She told them everything that had happened from the conversation before Cement boy to Callie's hurried departure that morning. Danielle and Sam were sympathetic even if they were as perplexed as she was about Callie's behavior. _

_Her phone rang as she was asking them what she should do. She looked at it surprised that it had started ringing just as she had resigned herself to not receiving the call she had been waiting for all day. She didn't answer right away. On the third ring, Sam spoke. _

"_I think you're supposed to open it up to answer." _

_Erica frowned, got up from her seat and walked to the kitchen, flipping it open as she walked._

_"Hello," she said hoping she sounded normal and not like the quivering mess she had been feeling like all day._

_"Hey, it's me."_

"_Hey," she said waiting for Callie to start._

_Silence._

"_Callie? Is everything okay?" she asked intentionally softening her tone._

_She heard Callie sigh into the phone._

"_Yeah, everything's fine."_

_Erica closed her eyes, not liking this conversation already. Apparently Callie didn't want to talk about what was going on with her._

"_You didn't seem fine this morning," said Erica trying again._

_There was another round of silence._

_It was clear that Callie was not fine. Something about last night or yesterday had not been fine. Erica felt her heart shaking deep in her chest cavity as she spoke again._

"_Callie, I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I pushed…" she started to say, but she never got to finish._

_"I got called in to work tonight and I was wondering if you could take Allie. I know you're out and I'll understand if you can't or don't want to."_

_Okay, so Callie didn't want to talk. She just needed a favor. They were still friends and Erica loved Allie, so of course she wouldn't deny her. She sighed._

_"Of course I'll take Allie, but I'm an hour away."_

_"Oh, well it's not right away. I got called in to do the overnight, something about being short staffed. Are you in Bentley?"_

"_Yes"_

_This time Erica felt the silence between them. She broke it._

"_Okay," she said knowing she was not getting any answers tonight, might never get answers. "I'll be home by eight." _

_She waited a few seconds, willing Callie to say something more, but there was only silence, so she closed her phone loudly, stared out the window of Sam and Danielle's kitchen, and told herself not to cry._

After everything that had happened she couldn't believe Callie had only called to ask for a favor. It was as if Saturday had never happened. Callie was acting like nothing had changed, like they hadn't shared something special and intimate just yesterday. Maybe they hadn't. Maybe she was the only one that had felt the special and intimate parts of Saturday. Maybe they had only existed in Erica's head.

One thing was clear though, there would be no talking. She understood that now. She would need to figure out how Callie and her were going to interact from here on out. She hoped she could find her way to being friends with Callie again, but she knew it wouldn't be easy and she knew she would need distance. And unfortunately distance from Callie was almost impossible.

They had stayed at Sam and Danielle's as long as they could, but finally they had to return. Callie was going to bring Allie to her house to spend the night. At least that's what she thought. There was still a possibility that Callie would change her mind. Maybe she would engage Nell's services overnight again. But in case she didn't, she wanted to be there. Allie deserved that.

To her surprise she had heard the doorbell at 8 o'clock exactly and being the coward that she was, with the image of her idiotic self this morning just standing there hands in her pockets still burning a hole in her head, she sent Lucas to answer the door, determined not to see Callie. What was the point?

But she had heard Callie wandering around downstairs and so she put on her Dr. Hahn mask or she tried to and went to the top of the stairs to see what Callie wanted. Apparently she had just wanted to make sure she wasn't leaving her child with a seven-year old babysitter.

She dreaded what the morning would bring. She was no closer to figuring out how to act, but she wasn't going to figure it out tonight anyway, so she threw out the coffee and wandered back upstairs.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 18 – Callie continues to obsess about "The Gay" and does something utterly stupid.


	18. Chapter 18

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 18)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** We go from bad to worse…

* * *

Chapter 18

Callie sat at the table in the lounge, her nervous energy causing her right leg to shake uncontrollably. She was pissed that she had been called in, but that irritation did not overshadow the nervousness and outright alienness she was feeling. Things were not right. The night had been slow and there wasn't much to do. She had already slept three hours in an on-call room, but as Christina had reminded her repeatedly tonight, she was literally the only ortho resident in the building right now, which meant she had dibs on whatever came in.

"Just suck it up, Torres," had been Christina's response to all her whining. But having nothing to do gave her too much time to think.

"Hey Christina, can I ask you something?"

Christina was reading on the couch in the resident's lounge. They were alone. "Okay, shoot."

"How would you know if you're gay?"

"What the hell? How would I know something like that? Go ask Hahn, you two are like inseparable these days."

"No, I mean intellectually, how do you think people know they're gay?"

Christina put her journal down. "I don't know," she said slowly and more loudly as if Callie was some kind of mental patient.

"I'm serious, how do you think people figure that stuff out?"

"Well usually which gender you want to have sex with is a dead give-away."

"Yeah, but is it really that simple? What about those people that are like married and go along in their happy little straight lives and then they just meet someone and bam, all of sudden they're gay. That happens, right?"

"I don't know Callie. I suppose all sorts of weird things happen."

Callie was sitting at the table fidgeting. She needed this question answered and she had nowhere else to go and no place to be right now, so she was prepared to force the issue with Christina.

"Yeah, but how do they make that decision that it's not just some fleeting attraction, some temporary insanity or something?"

"Seriously Callie, you're being really stupid right now. It's not temporary insanity."

"You know what I mean."

"No, not really. It's probably different for everybody, like most things. Ask 10 gay people and they'll tell you 10 different things. Why don't you ask Gretchen? She's supposed to be here tonight."

Gretchen. It was Gretchen's fault she was in this predicament. It was Gretchen that had pushed her into initiating something with Erica she wasn't ready for. She was so not asking Gretchen anything.

"Come on Christina, help me out here."

Christina got up from the couch and approached the table. "Why so curious? Something going on with you and Hahn?"

Callie looked down, "Why would you say that?"

"Probably all the drool you leave on the floor whenever Hahn's around. You do realize everyone can see what you look like when you look at her, right? There's even some sort of pool about it."

"Get out! Really?" she laughed. "If Erica knew she would freak." Even now, even with everything so messed up, she liked the idea of people thinking about them as a couple. She waited a heartbeat. "Does um, Gretchen know...about the pool I mean?"

Christina eyed her taking a seat at the table. "Yes, but she's not participating, mostly because she says you and Hahn will never happen. Is she right or are you considering it?" Callie looked away.

"We kissed," she said trying to figure out how to explain. Her hands began moving in front of her seemingly trying to pull the words from thin air, making Christina's eyes dart up and down like a cat's. But it was useless, better to not explain and stick with the facts. "After Cement boy, we kissed after Cement boy."

Christina blinked. "Seriously? Okay so you're together now? Score, I was betting it would be sooner rather than later."

"No. Not together. I'm not sure what's going on. I mean, I'm not gay. At least I didn't think I was."

"I wonder if kissing counts as together for the pool?"

"Christina! I'm being serious here."

"I don't talk girl, Callie."

"Okay, fine then we won't talk girl. Just tell me, how would I know if I'm really gay."

"Does that matter?" asked Christina with a confused look.

"You're still trying to win the pool aren't you? Of course it matters! I can't date someone I have no future with. I don't have time to experiment. I can't do that, not when Allie is involved."

"Okay, relax you freak. Well if I was trying to decide between two flavors of ice cream, I would just try both and see which one I liked better. So do that."

Callie glared at her. "Try both? That's your advice, try both?"

Christina shrugged. "I don't know. Isn't that how gay people decide? Most gay people I know have been with both genders, so I don't know, maybe that's how they decide." Christina had had enough. "I'm gonna check tomorrow's surgical schedule. You here until 6am, right?"

"Yeah," she said thinking through her conversation with Christina as she watched her leave the lounge.

Maybe Christina was right. Maybe she needed to just remind herself what it was like to be with a guy. Maybe Diego was right and she was just confusing things, thinking of Erica in inappropriate ways because she was there and she was hot and she was available.

* * *

The emergency came in an hour before her shift ended. An elderly woman apparently tripped by her cat had landed badly on her coffee table popping out her knee and breaking her hip in the process. It had taken the woman a good part of the night to just to get to the phone. It was a mess and it meant at least another 5 hours at the hospital. She left Erica a text message before going in to surgery, wanting to assure her that she would be picking up both kids at school that afternoon like she usually did.

The surgery was rough at the start; the damage so extensive that Callie had a hell of time mapping out what to do first. Eventually the path became clear, the music blared and they were well on their way. But by the end of it she was bone tired, seriously bone tired of work and of her personal problems. She wanted to just go home and curl into Erica's bed and think about the short night they had spent together in it and forget Diego's warnings and Christina's dumb ass advice about ice cream.

But it was her very unlucky day. The chief had found her as she was finishing the chart for the elderly woman and told her to take a nap in the on-call room because he needed her. There had been an ugly pile up near Bentley. Bentley was sending the worse cases to Seattle Grace. They would be arriving in a few hours. If she stayed, she could go home later and he would forego her overnights for the rest of the week.

She sighed. Her whole day had just changed. She called Nell and asked her to pick the kids up from school since she wasn't going to be able to do it and went in search of Erica. Erica was in surgery, so Callie left her a note that she would be at the hospital late and then went to look for of an empty on-call room. She slept in fits waking up frequently from weird dreams of robotic monsters on bicycles and other disjointed things she didn't really recall.

She woke not feeling very rested and went in search of the traumas that were supposed to be on their way. It was two in the afternoon and they should have been here by now.

"Torres," said Bailey from across the hall.

"Yeah?"

"Traumas got diverted to Mercy West, so we don't need you after all. The Chief is pissed. But you stayed so can I ask you to supervise on Samson's procedure? I know he's the attending, but the interns don't really like him and well, not sure they learn anything from him anyway. It's simple and then you can have the rest of the night off. I know the Chief promised no overnights for the rest of the week if you stayed, so I'll work it out if you do me this one favor."

"Yeah, whatever. Hey is Erica still in surgery?" she asked.

"Dr. Hahn? No, I think she's harassing one of Yang's interns. He apparently misplaced a chart she's looking for. Why? Something going on with Allie and Lucas?"

Callie smiled. "No, I was just wondering. I left her a note earlier about my schedule change, but haven't heard from her, so I was just wondering."

"The two of you have an interesting arrangement. It's nice though, isn't it, to have someone to share that with."

"It is," said Callie.

Bailey was looking at her strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing," she patted Callie's arm before walking away. "You deserve some happiness Torres."

It was weird. She and Bailey had kind of bonded over their children after Bailey had Tuck and of all the people in the hospital, Bailey had always been the most understanding about Callie's struggles with being a parent and a doctor, but they had never been close. She shrugged off the somewhat strange interaction and went to find Samson.

Bailey had been right, it was short and Samson didn't really screw it up, although she had to intervene on two occasions when he failed to instruct interns properly. Samson was losing it. In the last few years he hadn't really been keeping up to date on new procedures and advancements. He had been a great surgeon once, but even she could tell he was losing it.

She was at the Nurse's station charting and still thinking about her little "am I gay" problem when Mark walked up to her looking clean and fresh.

"Just get here?" she asked.

"No, but all of my surgeries got cancelled again."

"Nursing problems?"

"No, Hahn and Shepherd have been hogging the OR rooms and I guess I haven't been here long enough to trump that idiot Samson."

"He's not an idiot; he's just....getting up there."

"I'm bored. I don't suppose you have a need that requires satisfaction," he said suggestively.

It wasn't the first time he had made the suggestion. She usually gave him a disgusted look or ignored him outright. But today she gave it some consideration. Maybe Christina was right and she needed to just try being with a guy again. Maybe it would help her figure out if this thing with Erica was real or just desperation or confusion. He was encouraged by her look.

"On-call room?" he asked leering at her.

She said nothing, still not fully committed, but getting there. He saw it and moved away from her, slowly making his way to the on-call room, but not taking his eyes off of her.

Reluctantly she followed. It felt wrong to follow him, but she needed an answer and maybe this would give her the answer she was looking for.

* * *

She was being kissed roughly and had a fleeting thought to the last time she had been kissed. It had felt so different. The thrashing motion, the force, even the rough stubbly face was alien to her. Big hands were on her waist and making their way up her body, also rough and hurried. They squeezed her breast hard and she winced. She was being pushed backward onto the small cot that served as a bed. She felt the back of her legs hit the bed and tumbled into it. Her hands went automatically to the chest of the person falling on top of her. The force of the impact and his weight took all the air out of her lungs. She struggled to break free of the rough kiss and thrashing tongue. Her mouth hurt. He let go of her mouth, and braced his hands on each side of her. He was breathing hard into her neck and sliding his body along side hers. She felt him on her thigh and wanted to cry.

This was wrong. It was wrong. It was all so wrong.

"Stop," she choked out pushing him away and trying to ease out from under him.

"What?" he asked sounding confused.

His hands didn't move. Instead he turned his attention to her neck and ear.

"Do you need something else, baby? Do you need me to…"

"NO!" she shouted. "I want to stop. Please just stop."

He stopped immediately pushing himself off of her and leaning on his side. She started to cry. She didn't want this, not him, no matter how easy and convenient. She didn't want him. She shook her head trying to grasp and absorb everything that was coming at her. Oh God, it wasn't about hims or hers, vaginas or penises, it was about Erica. She had been asking the wrong question or rather the question she had been asking didn't matter at all. What mattered was wrong and right. This was wrong, Erica was right. It had never felt wrong with Erica.

"I'm sorry," she said her voice cracking, hands shielding her eyes, wanting to hide the tears that had finally broken through.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Torres. Did I do something wrong?"

"No. I did something wrong. This is wrong. I'm wrong."

He rubbed her bare stomach.

"Please don't do that," she said.

"Callie, it's okay. We don't have to. I thought… We don't have to do anything."

She took a few moments to take deep breaths. "I am so messed up."

"We all are," he said. "You're no different than anyone else."

"No I think I take the entire cake on being messed up," she responded closing her eyes tightly. "But thank you. You're sweet to say that."

"You okay?" he asked.

"No, I'm not, but it's not something I can talk about right now."

She let her mind drift for a few seconds, wanting to not be here, in this room, this hospital, wanting to be somewhere else, some magical place where everything was simple and fears were easily dismissed by light breezes. She wanted to be somewhere where she could process this thing that had just smacked her upside the head. She loved Erica and the rest of it, the complications, the fears, none of it could really compete with that.

"Is it you and Hahn?" Mark asked.

She sat up abruptly and started looking for her shirt. He lay back on the bed.

"That is the question isn't it? Is there a me and Erica?" she said hoping Erica hadn't completely given up on her.

"I'm guessing by your openness to a quickie that things aren't going well. What, not enjoying the sex?"

"The sex is awesome. This, this with you was a mistake, but a good mistake," she said as she spotted her shirt on the ground near the door and went toward it.

Sometimes you had to be taken to the edge before you could see the whole forest. This was her edge and she was seeing the forest so clearly and in such detail that she could tell you the shade of every single leaf. She was starting to feel more confident. She didn't want him. She was buzzing with the excitement of knowing that it wasn't about he's and she's. It was exactly what she had told Diego. It was just this one girl. Nothing else mattered. She picked up her shirt and tossed his to the side.

He rose from the bed slowly and started walking to where his shirt had landed, tying up his scrub pants as he did so.

"I've been called a mistake before, but never a good mistake, especially when we didn't…"

The door opened. One of the faceless interns Callie never recognized walked in talking to someone. He didn't even glance their way, apparently oblivious to everything.

"I'm sorry. I brought the chart in here with me. It should be right here." He was as white as a sheet. He walked to the bed on the other side of the room and started tossing pillows and blankets.

Callie had just finished straightening her shirt when she heard him and her own face blanched.

Please God, don't let it be....

"Find it number 4 or whatever Yang calls you or you will never see the inside of an OR again."

Erica.

Erica had been focusing on the intern she was following, but was not as oblivious to her surroundings as he was. She saw it all in a few seconds: a shirtless Mark Sloan tying his scrub pants and Callie straightening her shirt, her hair all askew.

"Erica," said Callie, but Erica had turned her back to them.

The intern was practically under the bed when he located the missing chart. He leapt up off the floor.

"Got it, Dr. Hahn, here it is!"

Erica snatched the chart from him and disappeared without another word, the intern trailing after her and leaving a frightened Callie standing in shock in the middle of the on-call room.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 19 – Callie is good at fixing bones, but has no experience fixing hearts…


	19. Chapter 19

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 19)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note: And now we star the 'fixing it' journey. **

* * *

Chapter 19

Erica looked over the chart that had been missing for the last thirty minutes. She paid no attention to the intern trotting beside her and his incessant apologies for losing the chart. She barked out orders, hoped he got them right, shoved the chart back in his hands and turned to go to her office.

"Page me if anyone needs me, but somebody better be dying before you call me," she shouted after him.

She walked into her office locking the door behind her and then just stopped. She stood in the dark cracking her knuckles anxiously, not knowing what she should do next. Saturday she and Callie had made love. Sunday morning Callie had run from her. All day Sunday Erica had felt lost. She had tried convincing herself that everything was not crumbling around her, that Callie was processing things in her own way, that there was still a chance, if Callie would just talk to her. Even after it was clear Callie didn't want to talk, it hadn't been real yet that is was all over. Her mind had known, had tried to formulate a plan for moving forward, but her heart had still felt the tug of Callie. Now after what she had just witnessed....she had been so wrong about everything.

She didn't know how long she had been standing in the middle of her office in the dark, but eventually she heard knocking. Her body jerked at the sound and she just managed to stop herself from answering automatically. She came back to where she was and what she had just seen and remained still and silent, confident that she didn't want to deal with whatever or whoever was on the other side of that door.

"Erica, it's me. Can you let me in?"

_Of course. Callie. No, I don't think so. I think you've cut me enough. _

"Erica?"

The voice was getting louder, but the banging stopped. Still Erica stood unmoving, just breathing and clenching her fists. She had been so utterly wrong about everything. She wanted to go home, but that thought made her feel like crying, because home was Lucas and Allie and Callie's stuff in her dresser. Still she stood, as motionless as a statue, the lonely tear rolling down her cheek was the only sign that there was something alive in the still body. Finally she heard no more banging and no one calling her name. She went to her couch, sat heavily with her head in her hands and let it all out. Two days of fear, disappointment, confusion, and anger converged. For one long moment she cried silent tears.

An eternity later, she was taking stock. She had a headache, no tissue, and her face was a mess of tears and snot and hurt. She got up. She had to get herself together. Despite the threat she had made to the intern, she knew at some point she would be paged and she needed to not be a mess. Wiping her face as best she could with her scrub shirt, she went to the door and opened it. She saw the bathroom across the way bathed in harsh light and hurriedly made her way to it. She closed the door, splashed her face with cold water again and again and then dried her face. She still looked a mess, but maybe she would get lucky and not be paged for another hour. By then she might not look like she had been sitting in a dark room crying.

She opened the bathroom door and darted back across the hall into her dark office, closing and locking the door softly. She kept the light off contemplating what to do next as she stood, hand still on the doorknob. She had work to do on the surgical floor, but she couldn't go down there. She put her hand in the pocket of her jacket, felt for the stethoscope she kept there and tried to remind herself that she was a doctor. She was in a hospital. This is where she worked. She cursed herself. This is exactly why you keep your professional life separate from your private life.

She took a deep breath and straightened, maybe she would just stay in here for awhile.

"That wasn't what you think it was," a voice said from the dark.

Erica jumped and turned toward the sound. She recognized the voice and knew her hard won stability was about to be wrecked. She said nothing at first. She leaned against the door and focused her gaze on where the couch should be. Eventually she saw the rough outline of a body, Callie's body.

"I don't know how you got in here, but I'd like you to leave," she managed to get out.

"I didn't sleep with him."

"No, I'm sure you weren't sleeping," responded Erica.

"I didn't have sex with him," Callie clarified.

"Really, what are you hets calling it these days?"

"Name calling doesn't help."

"Neither does running away."

Neither woman said anything for a few minutes.

"Cal..." Erica cleared her throat. It was unbelievable how much it hurt to say her name.

"Look, let's just forget the whole thing Saturday okay. I have no claim to you. I understand that. You're allowed to have whatever adult relationships you want. Let's just chalk it up to curiosity and forget about it."

"I don't want to forget it. I can't stop thinking about it."

Erica expelled a strangled laugh.

"You seem to be distracting yourself with other thoughts quite nicely."

"I was... I was trying to get a question answered. I did get a question answered."

Erica laughed again. "Good for you, Callie. Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked. Her voice was getting shakier by the minute.

"I don't know," responded Callie sounding lost. "But I know I hurt you yesterday and today and I want to fix that."

"You didn't break my arm, Callie. You broke my... It can't be fixed, okay. It happened, you didn't like it, had to find satisfaction elsewhere, end of story. It happens."

"Erica stop. It wasn't like that."

"Yes, it was Callie. Not for me, but it was like that for you. It's okay to say it. I've already seen the evidence of it. It can't get worse than that, can it? You're straight and I should have known better."

She crossed over to her desk. She was exhausted. "Don't worry, I'll get over it."

"What if I don't want you to get over it?"

"Callie, please stop. Please stop talking or acting like this thing with us means something. You're straight. I get it. Go, be with Mark. We'll just… We'll just start separating our lives."

Callie said nothing for a few seconds. Suddenly her trembling voice uttered, "I was confused, okay? I've never done this before and I was scared. This…this thing with us, it scares me how strong it is."

"It scares me too. In fact, it's one big nightmare."

And suddenly she didn't want to hash this out with Callie. She made her way to the door, opened it and left. She was going home. She was almost at the end of her shift anyway. They could page her for anything else. Decision made she headed for the locker rooms. She would need to tell Bailey and Gretchen, but after that, she was gone from this hell hole.

Callie sat on the couch letting the tears fall again, knowing that the best thing that had ever happened to her had just walked out, and knowing she might not be able to fix this. She felt stupid and completely inept. The question she had been struggling with so intently was trivial and insignificant and she had let it become everything. She no longer cared what all of this meant about her. She just knew this thing with Erica felt right. She wanted Erica, plain and simple.

_You can't fix this. _

That's what Erica had told her. She didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it, not if she wanted to set her life back on track, set it back on the path it had been on.

A soft knock set her heart pounding again, hoping Erica had come back. After all this was her office.

"Erica?" she spoke softly.

"Huh?" she heard and then saw a tiny thin body push the door open and step into the doorway. "Dr. Hahn?" the body called out.

"Christina?" asked Callie getting up from the couch and hitting the light. They both winced at the fluorescent brightness that pierced their eyes.

"Hey Torres. I was looking for Dr. Hahn. Consult on one of Shepherd's patients. Where's Erica?" she asked.

Callie laughed nervously. "I wish I knew."

Christina's eyes scanned Erica's office, now bathed in light, curiously for a moment before settling on Callie. "Hey, what's going on? You okay?"

"No," said Callie trying to will the shakiness out of her voice.

"You and Hahn get into a fight or something?"

Callie sat back down. "Something like that. I screwed up." She looked up suddenly. "It's your fault! You told me to try both and then I went and tried to do that and now Erica might never talk to me."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You told me to try both!"

"Oh my God! What did you do?"

"I tried to find out if I was gay, by trying to sleep with Mark."

"That makes no damn sense. Callie I didn't mean like literally. I mean you have slept with men before, so you didn't really need to try it out."

"Yeah well, I didn't sleep with him. I got my question answered pretty quickly or part of it at least. I don't know if I'm gay and I don't care. I don't want to be with Mark or anyone else, unless their name is Erica Hahn."

"That could be a common name."

"Shut up."

"Well now that you've figured it out, you and Hahn can get together and I can still win the pool."

"She saw us, me and Mark..." Callie winced not wanting to think of that moment, the door opening, those blue eyes glancing her way. Her stomach clenched. "Oh God, how am I going to fix this?"

"I don't know, but for what its worth, I'm sorry Callie, I didn't mean it like that. I meant try it out with a girl and see which you liked better, you know like maybe the woman you've been following around like a puppy dog for the last few months."

Now that Callie thought about it that made perfect sense. "Fuck me," she said. She put her head in her hands. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Gay panic," said Christina calmly.

"What?"

"Gay panic. You're attracted to a girl. It's never happened before, hence the panic. You think it means you might be gay and boom panic. Happens all the time."

Callie glared at her. "What do you mean it happens all the time? Why the fuck didn't you inform me of gay panic when I talked to you about this before?"

"Oh come on. You barely told me what was going on. You still haven't. Besides, I just thought of it now anyway. Listen, I gotta go find Hahn. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I just gotta....figure out how to fix this."

* * *

Erica went home with a very weary heart. She had left later than she wanted, having been called in to do a consult for Shepherd, but now she was heading home. She had to stop at Callie's to pick up Lucas. She didn't want to go inside, didn't want to deal with telling Nell that no she would not be taking Allie with her, that Callie would be coming home shortly. Lucas would whine. He wouldn't understand. Isn't this what she had wanted to avoid, why she had told Callie that the teasing had to stop ages ago?

And still a part of her had been relieved to hear Callie's words.

_I didn't sleep with him._

They were a balm to her aching heart. She loved Callie, had opened herself up to her and made herself more vulnerable than she had ever done in any relationship and she was paying the price, because it was slowly destroying her. She knew that physically she was healthy and whole. There was nothing medically wrong with her heart and so she had moved through her life the last two days as if everything was fine, as if her heart wasn't breaking, because physically it wasn't. She breathed in and out, took care of Lucas and Allie, the house, her patients, all of it without once swerving, without even the slightest sway of indifference or doubt. And yet emotionally she was not healthy and she was not whole. Her heart was damaged and in pieces and although it was an organ she usually knew how to fix, she could not fix this.

The ache had started the moment Callie had walked out of her house on Sunday morning with a sleepy confused little girl in her arms. Erica had gone through the motions of the day, despite Callie's absence, despite Lucas's questions and the break in their routine. She had walked through it all pushing aside the ache, but it grew as the day progressed. How could it not when the reality of the situation was so painful? That ache seemed to double in size seeing Callie at the bottom of her steps on Sunday night. It tripled as soon as she walked into the hospital.

At the hospital it had infected her lungs until breathing hurt and she had to periodically stop and wait until her body's need for breath overpowered the pain, and air once again moved in and out of her lungs. The pain grew until it reached her head giving her a monster headache that no amount of aspirin was able to tackle. Finally it invaded her muscles which ached with the tension. She had pushed the pain aside on Sunday and taken care of her son. She had pushed it away again today and taken care of her patients, trying not to think of Callie and explanations that were not forthcoming.

Today she had expected some explanation from Callie for the odd behavior even if no apologies were coming, but as the day progressed with no word, no gesture from Callie, it became harder to push away the pain. And then she walked into that on-call room to see Mark and Callie in a state of semi-dress. She had looked away immediately not wanting that image to burn itself into her memory, knowing even then how futile the gesture was.

The shock had gotten her through her interactions with the intern and her stubborn pride and sheer will had allowed her to make it to her office before completely breaking down. And then, she still wasn't sure how, Callie was there providing explanations Erica did not want to hear. She had wanted explanations to Callie's behavior earlier, but after what she had seen in the on-call room, she no longer needed them.

Then anger finally made an appearance. It had climbed to the surface like a tidal wave and allowed her to get through Callie's attempts at an explanation. Anger got her through the end of her shift and the final consult for Shepherd, but she was spent now.

She parked the car in her driveway and made her way across the street. She had a key, but didn't really want to use it; it wouldn't be appropriate anymore, so she knocked. Nell answered with her coat already on.

"Hello Dr. Hahn. Did you lose your keys? I'm sorry I have to bail so quickly, but I have a date tonight. Kids were given a snack and they claim they've finished their homework. See you tomorrow."

She was gone before Erica could get in a breath.

Erica walked in, her eyes stinging a little and her heart threatening to thump out of her chest at how familiar this house was and how she would no longer be spending time here.

"Mom!" shouted Lucas jumping into her arms. She lifted him up and hugged him to her fiercely, closing her eyes tight.

"Mom," he squirmed, "I gotta show you my drawing. Allie says it's cool and looks just like a real bat."

He wiggled out of her grasp and ran for the dining room where they usually did their homework. Allie was standing there arms outstretched waiting for her hug. Erica lifted her in much the same fashion as Lucas and hugged her even more fiercely, knowing the hugs would be limited from here on out. Allie didn't squirm as much as Lucas. She leaned back in Erica's arms and started talking as Erica walked into the living room.

"I did a bird, but it wasn't as good. But I did a cat too and a house and those were good."

"I'm sure they were great princess. You want to show me?" Allie nodded her head and Erica set her down. She couldn't be here. She knew that.

"Hey guys, grab your stuff, grab your pictures and homework, we're going across the street, okay?"

"Okay Mom. I'll bring my picture."

"You too Allie, bring your picture."

"Okay," said Allie. "I have to get my sweater from upstairs cause I want to wear it tomorrow. Wait for me okay?"

"Okay sweetie."

Erica closed her eyes. Lucas was gathering his and Allie's school stuff for the next day. Allie was fully expecting to be spending the night at her house. Erica didn't have the heart to tell her that her mom would probably just bring her back here in an hour.

* * *

She made them dinner, not as healthy as Callie would have made, but chicken nuggets and carrots with some brown rice left over from the Chinese take-out on Saturday night would have to do. They shared their drawings with her, talked about their day, asked when Callie would be home, and told her about their desire to see a real bat and a zebra and monkeys so they could draw them. Allie's teacher was an art nut and was forever telling the kids to go out and find things to draw. Lucas had been fascinated with the idea and both he and Allie were now in an intense drawing phase. She was listening to them, knowing they were working up to asking for something. They did it very well, trying to talk around what they wanted to ask as subtly as they could, but she knew Lucas would crack and blurt it all out.

After some hints, Lucas could not contain himself and asked if they could all go to the zoo.

She knew it had been coming, felt the lump forming in her throat as Allie droned on and on about animals and where one could find lots of animals. But they would not be going to the zoo together. She set her fork down. She had eaten the brown rice, but the carrots and chicken nuggets were limp and cold on her plate, untouched. She glanced at the clock. She was surprised Callie hadn't picked up Allie yet. She knew Callie had been asked to stay to help with the Bentley trauma. But those cases had been diverted, so she had assumed Callie would just go home. She was probably with Mark.

"You'll have to ask your Mom about the zoo, Allie," she said. "Now homework. Where is everyone's homework?" Both kids slid off their chairs.

"Race you," she heard Lucas say and they were off running towards their backpacks.

Ten minutes later, homework had been checked. Lucas was playing with Lego's creating yet another robotic monster. Allie was looking through books, probably thinking ahead to her bedtime story. She liked to take her time in choosing her story every night. Lucas liked the same story read to him for a few months. Right now it was a story about a girl on a bicycle who tries to take a short cut and ends up on a crazy adventure.

She rubbed her temples. Her headache had returned at full strength. She knew part of it was stress at the likely confrontation with Callie, part of it was worry about what was happening and how the kids would react. This whole thing was already affecting them. Lucas hadn't understood why they did not have breakfast like they usually did yesterday. He would have a lot more questions in the days ahead.

She got up setting their homework neatly in their folders. She still needed to clean up the dinner dishes. She walked over to the table to start the process when she heard the turning of a lock. She tensed watching the kids scramble to the door. Callie entered and immediately dropped her bag as Allie ran towards her at full speed. It was hard on Callie these long shifts. She knew Callie felt like she missed days of Allie's life when her shifts went over.

"Mommy," squealed Allie putting her tiny arms around Callie's neck as Callie kissed her.

Lucas was right behind her jumping up and down and also screaming "Mommy."

Erica almost dropped the plates.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

This was not good. This was not like him calling Erica Mom. She would need to explain things to him. She tried to leave the thought that she had been wishing so hard for what he had just vocalized outside of her mind. It was not a possibility. She stood there watching the three of them, plates hanging somewhat loosely from her hand.

"Hey sweeties," she heard Callie say.

Either she had not heard Lucas or was choosing not to deal with it.

"You two look more beautiful now then you did yesterday. What's up with that?"

Lucas giggled. "We're the same, just different clothes," he declared.

"I don't know," Callie humored him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" from both Allie and Lucas and they delved into a conversation about how different their clothes were from yesterday. Callie was smiling at them as she made her way to the living room.

"So we have an hour before bedtime. Why don't you guys pick something to watch before you go to bed?" she asked.

"Okay," they said simultaneously darting for the DVD cases spread out in front of the television.

"We'll do baths in the morning. Get into your jammies first and then pick a movie while I talk to your other Mom over there."

_So she had heard Lucas._

They set off at a run tumbling up the stairs arguing about movie choices.

Erica was still standing, dirty dishes in her hands, trying to decipher Callie's exchange with Lucas and Allie. Callie watched the kids race up the stairs before making her way to Erica. Erica saw her and turned, heading into the kitchen. She threw the scraps in the garbage and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Callie followed her into the kitchen a few moments later with more dirty dishes from their dinner.

"You don't have to do that," said Erica sounding a bit harsh.

Callie said nothing. She handed over the dishes and left the kitchen. Erica cursed herself silently. She didn't want anger to be the only thing left between them. Callie returned with the rest of the dirty dishes from the dining room table. She handed them to Erica and waited for Erica to set the dishwasher. Erica was trying to ignore her. She didn't want to be nasty, not here in her house with the kids just upstairs, but she didn't feel up to dealing with Callie right now either. She felt Callie behind her, but remained silent as she set the cycle to start. Callie was still behind her as the machine came to life and Erica found that she could not turn around.

Erica," said Callie. "Turn around."

Erica said nothing and continued facing the dishwasher, her back to Callie. Callie put her hands on Erica's waist. "Turn around," she repeated.

Erica shook her head.

"Please," said Callie.

"Callie, please don't," answered Erica in a voice so soft it was almost lost in the drone of the machine in front of her.

"Turn. Around," said Callie putting a little more force into the words.

Erica let out a breath and turned abruptly. She started to speak, she wanted to say something to make Callie back off, but instead she found strong hands cupping her face, felt soft lips moving on hers. She wanted to pull away, she really did. She told herself she would, as soon as she just...

All thoughts vanished as Callie opened her mouth and wrapped her arms around Erica's neck. Erica was going to spontaneously combust. Every part of her body in contact with Callie tingled with sparks. She wrapped her arms around Callie pulling her closer, wanting to ignite all the tingly places. She banished all thoughts and just enjoyed this. She didn't know what was happening or why and didn't care. For this moment in time, she only cared that Callie was in her arms, kissing her and responding to her kisses.

Erica thought she heard noises in the distance. She must be losing it. Kissing Callie had finally put her over the edge because she swore she was hearing what sounded like a stampede in her house. The giggling that followed however dispelled the notion of horses. Abruptly she tried to break away knowing that Callie was weird about the kids seeing them, but Callie's grip on her tightened.

"Are we gonna watch something or are you guys just gonna kiss all night?" asked Lucas.

For a moment, she actually considered telling him that kissing all night seemed like a good option. Allie must have found Lucas's comment hilarious because she was laughing hysterically. Callie was pulling away from her slowly. They stopped kissing, but Callie's arms were still around Erica's neck.

She focused on Erica's eyes as she whispered, "I don't want him. I want you." She let go of Erica and turned to Lucas and Allie. "Alright, you two, let's go sit for a bit. Let's see what you've picked."

"Mommy, Mommy, Mom said, I mean Aunt Erica said that we could go to the zoo," said Allie as she skipped into the living room attached to her mother's hand. Apparently now that Lucas had tried it with no objections, Allie was game.

"She did? Well we'll need to talk about that."

"Yeah that's what she said too. Can we go?" Allie begged.

"We'll talk about it."

Erica could hear the three of them talking in the living room. She didn't know what to make of the kiss or Callie's comment. An hour ago she had been contemplating change, how her and Lucas's life would change without Callie and Allie. Her life had just changed again, but not in the way she had anticipated that afternoon. Callie had just kissed her in front of the kids. Callie wanted her. She was not taking Allie away tonight. She ran her hands through her hair. Everything had changed again and she didn't know exactly how that had happened or what she should do.

She watched Lucas and Allie get settled on the floor still talking like they were on speed and then turned to Callie who was sitting on the couch seemingly participating in the inane chatter from the floor. She looked at Erica as she entered and patted the spot next to her.

Erica wondered where they should go from here. What had really happened with Sloan? Erica wanted to believe that Callie hadn't slept with him, but something had happened with Mark. Erica had seen something. Callie had said something about "trying" with Mark, hadn't she? What was she trying exactly? And why did she feel the need to try anything with Mark? They had kissed in front of the kids. What had that meant? The kids would have expectations. Actually, she didn't know if their expectations would be any different than they were now, which seemed to consist of the four them spending as much time together as possible.

Resolving to save her questions for later, she moved towards the couch and sat, wondering once again what she was supposed to do. Unless she was reading the signs wrong again, Callie seemed to want to move forward. The problem was that Erica wasn't sure she could anymore. Despite the kiss in the kitchen, despite Callie's declaration that she had not slept with Mark, Erica wasn't sure she wanted to pursue Callie any longer. She wasn't sure her heart could take it.

* * *

Coming up Next – Callie lays her heart on the line and Erica has a decision to make.


	20. Chapter 20

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 20)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Lucas, Allie and Gretchen Samuels are my creations however.

**Author's Note: Had the most wonderful Sunday morning, waking up to nice reviews and messages. Just wanted to say a big thank you to all those reviewing as the chapters come out. I read every single review obsessively. I debated whether to post this one tonight, but out of fear that I am over-editing, I've posted. **

**On to the story… Erica's putting up walls, but they're pretty flimsy.**

* * *

Chapter 20

"So what… What did I see if it wasn't what I thought I saw?" said Erica standing at the edge of the living room.

Allie had been the first to fall asleep. Lucas had been halfway there and had to be carried up all the same about 45 minutes into the movie. Things had been a little awkward with just the two of them after they had settled the kids. All kinds of questions had been rolling around inside Erica's head as they made their way downstairs again. She hadn't known which question would actually come out first, but was somewhat happy that her subconscious wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

Callie had been quiet on the way down. She went to the couch and sat not really acknowledging Erica's question. Erica's stomach immediately tied itself in knots again and she felt the familiar throbbing in her head that signaled another headache.

"Have you eaten?" asked Erica not sure of what else to say.

"No, but I'm not hungry right now. Come sit next to me," said Callie patting the seat next to her.

Erica looked weary. She felt safer where she was, just standing at the edge of the living room, but Callie was looking at her expectantly and so she walked over and sat down.

"It was and it wasn't what you thought you saw," began Callie.

Erica's hands started to shake. She clenched them tightly and sat back.

"Okay, I'm going to need a little more explanation." She closed her eyes willing the headache to recede into the background.

Callie turned to face her. "I tried sleeping with him. It felt wrong, so I stopped. We didn't."

Erica was trying hard not to lose it. "Maybe I don't want an explanation," she said. She let out a breath. "Okay, I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, but what the hell? So how far did you get? No, you know what, I don't want to know."

"We didn't get very far. I told him to stop and he did. End of story."

"He had his shirt off. He was doing up his pants. What, did you not get to finish?" This had been a mistake. She didn't want to know.

"This was a mistake," Erica vocalized the thought in her head as she started to get up.

"I love you," she heard Callie say stopping her in mid-motion. Erica sat back down. She had been wanting to hear those words since she had said them herself two days ago. Now they seemed hollow, like something you said because it was expected or required.

"I wanted you to know. I love you too. You told me you loved me and I told you that you were special. Well you are special to me. Erica, I'm in love with you."

Erica thought about that. She wanted to believe her. She really wanted to believe those words.

"Then why were you even trying to sleep with him?"

"I not sure I'm gay, so I wanted to see...I thought it would answer that question. It did. I didn't want him – didn't want that. The 'that' doesn't mater. I just want you."

"Good, great. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say here Callie, congratulations?"

This was a bad idea. Everything was too fresh in Erica's mind. She needed some distance from it before she could talk about it rationally.

"I'm sorry Callie. I can't have this conversation right now. I just..."

She got up abruptly and went to the window trying to collect herself. Callie did not follow. Neither woman spoke.

Erica had been like a robot tonight strictly on autopilot as she put chicken nuggets in the oven and checked homework. The routine, the kids, Callie kissing her had chased away the last of the anger she had felt this afternoon and now all that was left was the bone-chilling hurt she had been trying to hold at bay for two days.

After a few minutes Erica felt like she could form words and even say them out loud, although she didn't. Knowing you could say words and figuring out what the words should be were two different prospects. She stayed by the window finding the bleak rainy visage oddly comforting. It was a mirror to what she was feeling right now. An hour ago she and Callie had been kissing. Callie had been in her arms, molding herself to Erica's body, holding on to her so tight, it made Erica believe she wanted to be there, right there being held by Erica.

She was weak. That was the only explanation for the hope that had sparked in her heart in that moment. It had surprised Erica. She was not a hopeful person, but Callie's kiss in the kitchen had ignited it. She shook her head as she considered the ridiculousness of having hope in such a hopeless situation. Two days ago she had let herself believe that Callie was feeling what she was feeling, that they were merely falling in love. She couldn't put faith in that again because instead of celebrating their new love, she was standing here in her own house waiting to hear about Mark Sloan. She didn't want to hear it, didn't want to know exactly how far Mark and Callie had gotten.

She didn't want to have to imagine Mark's hands touching places she had yet to touch. She laughed at that.

"Erica?"

She heard Callie call her name in question and turned, but did not respond.

"You okay?" Callie asked and then cringed at her own question.

She considered lying and telling Callie she was just fine, nothing bothering her today, but she had never been good at lying. She was more comfortable with blunt honest truths. She sighed and turned her gaze back to the inky black darkness outside the window.

"I will be," she finally answered. "I'm not right now, but eventually I will be."

"What was the laugh for?" asked Callie.

Erica laughed again. "You don't want to know."

"Yes, I do."

Erica turned to look at her, but her eyes could not remain on Callie for long, not without compromising her precious control. She turned back to the window before answering.

"You didn't take your shirt off," she said.

Callie let a few minutes pass in silence. Finally she spoke.

"I don't know what that means?" she said sounding confused.

"You didn't take your shirt off with me. Amateur, teenage romp on a couch. No clothes came off." She laughed again. "Unlike your other…" she struggled to find the appropriate word and settled on "encounter". She spared a quick glance at Callie noting the moistness in her eyes before looking away again.

"Kind of says it all doesn't it? With me it was play, foreplay even, a warm-up for the real thing." There was no force in the world that could keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Oh God, Erica, that is not…please don't."

Callie's voice was shaking, the tremors recognizable in every syllable she spoke. "It was stupid. A very stupid idiotic thing. It was me trying to get a question answered, nothing else. It was not…"

Erica interrupted her ramblings. Even now she couldn't stand to see Callie in pain. "It doesn't matter Callie."

"What do you mean? Of course it matters!"

Erica didn't respond. She continued to stare at the world outside her window for a full minute before speaking again.

"Callie I think we both know this was a mistake."

"I know I made a mistake, but I don't think…"

"No Callie, I mean this, whatever this is, whatever's going on with us, it's a mistake."

Callie was staring at her, disbelief etched into every line of her lovely face. Erica tried to smile at her.

"You're not gay. That's why you had questions you needed answered. That's why you're struggling with this. Callie, I love you, but this is a mistake. I think we… we need to start thinking about how to separate our lives."

"I don't want that," said Callie defiantly.

"Neither do I, but it's the only option open to us."

"I didn't kiss you earlier because I wanted to spend time apart. I didn't expose our relationship to our...to the kids so that we could separate our lives. I didn't just tell you I love you so we could walk away from each other."

"It's not that simple Callie. I know you think you've figured things out, but we've been here before and I can't jump into this thing with you a second time." She found solace in the window again and turned her gaze outward before continuing. "I've been in love with you for a long time, but I accepted that you weren't feeling the same thing and tried to be your friend. Friday night and Saturday were…"

She closed her eyes taking in big long breaths. "Pretty wonderful for me. I'm sorry it wasn't like that for you. I wish you had talked to me, but… you didn't. This afternoon… I've reached my limit Callie. I can't do this anymore. I'd like to salvage the friendship, but I'm not even sure how to do that. For right now, I think it's best to put some distance between us. It gets too confusing when we're together. Otherwise, I don't think I'll survive this friendship."

"What?" Callie had gone from defiance to shock. "What does that mean?"

"Callie we need to…I need some space from you, see if I can put this behind me."

"But I don't want that. I don't want you to put us behind you. I want to be with you. I know I screwed up. I didn't talk to you about what George said and I went with…I was trying to get a question answered and I did, but I don't want to lose you."

There were tears in her eyes and down her cheeks and some of her words had come out choked and Erica's heart broke a little more. She hated this. She hated how she was feeling and she hated seeing Callie hurt.

"Callie I don't want to lose your friendship either. It's been hard enough to lose...But too much has happened. I can't just go back to being friends with you again, not yet. I just need some time to…"

"But I don't want to be just your friend. I want you, Erica."

Callie stood and walked over to Erica reaching for her, wanting to feel her hands on Erica's stomach, the place she seemed to naturally gravitate to.

"Please don't," said Erica her eyes closed. It had taken every ounce of will power she had left to not flinch, to not step back abruptly and walk out of the room.

"Oh God," said Callie as she looked away, new tears glistening paths made earlier on her face. "Oh God, this is… Erica, please don't do this. Don't shut me out. Please…"

Erica's eyes were stinging. She was sick of the tears and the hurt and the confusion and because despite everything that had happened, she was in love with this woman and hated to see her in pain or distress, she surged forward and wrapped long arms around her. It was like no sensation she had ever known this combination of pain and elation that was twisting around her insides like some psychotic game of Twister.

"It's okay Callie. It'll be okay. You'll be okay."

Callie had a death grip on her, but her sobs subsided after a few minutes. She sniffled into Erica's shirt and lifted her head. "Will we be okay?" she asked.

Erica thought about her answer for awhile as she looked at Callie. "I don't know Callie. We'll take some time and figure things out and see what happens."

Callie had stopped crying and seemed to get herself together. She let Erica go and stepped carefully out of her embrace.

"Don't give up on us Erica. I want this with you. You want it too. I know you do."

"It's not a matter of want, Callie. I think it's a matter of what's best."

"I don't care about what's best. I care about what's right and you and me, we are right. I never feel as right as when I'm with you. It just took me awhile to recognize it."

Erica said nothing. She thought she had known how this conversation was going to go.

_How many things could I be wrong about in one day?_

Callie was saying the right things, she really was. Erica hadn't expected that, but she knew herself, knew her desire to believe Callie's words came from her heart, just like the kissing in the kitchen earlier. That had been her heart talking too. But she needed her head right now, so she forced herself to be logical, to push back on the emotions and instead think about the last two months, the back and forth with Callie, her running away, Mark Sloan. Mark Sloan. No matter how right things felt, Callie had still felt the need to go to Mark Sloan.

It was too late.

_It took you too long to recognize it Callie, because I'm not sure I want to make myself that vulnerable again with you. My heart can't take it. I can't take it._

Callie must have seen the doubt and fear in Erica's eyes.

"I know you're not sure. I get that. I just want you to not give up on us. Please don't… I need you to not give up on me. Please tell me you won't give up?"

Erica was staring at her, willing the right answer to appear in front of her like magic. But there was no such thing as magic, there was just her heart and her head and they weren't providing the answer.

"Okay," she said unsure of what she had agreed to. "But, things can't be the way they were before, Callie. I can't be around you all the time."

Callie considered the statement. She let her hands settle on Erica's stomach letting out a breath in relief that Erica was allowing it.

"You're always so warm here at your core. It's my favorite place to be. I feel like I'm anchored to you when I'm here." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I can give you space. But you need to know that I want to be with you. You know that right? I want this, you and me and Lucas and Allie. I want it with you and I'll be here when you're done thinking about everything. I've had my gay panic and I'm over it."

Erica was surprised at her words. "Gay panic?" she asked.

"That's what Christina called it."

"Okay," said Erica enjoying Callie's hands on her and knowing she had to put an end to it soon. She was trying to will herself to do it. She stared at Callie's hands and finally got her own hands to settle on Callie's, gripping and pushing Callie away from her.

"Not yet," said Callie looking at her with a pleading look. "I promise I'll give you space. I won't do the touching thing and I'll accept whatever boundaries you want to set up, but let me just…for tonight, right now, can we just pretend today didn't happen? Can you just hold me?"

Erica knew she should say no, that no amount of denial could change the events of today or the last few days, but this had been one of the worse days of her life and she wanted to forget it too. She wanted to forget Mark Sloan and on-call rooms and gay panic. So instead of taking those hands away, she engulfed Callie in a hug and let Callie's head rest on her chest. She wrapped her arms around her body and just held on, dreading the morning and all the changes it would bring.

And somewhere in her head something registered. What the hell had George O'Malley said to Callie?

* * *

An hour later, Erica was still holding her. They had moved to the couch and Erica's mind was all over the place. She didn't think it was a good idea for them to be like this, wrapped around each other when tomorrow everything would change. But she had already denied Callie a pretty big thing and there were only so many things she could deny Callie in one night. This was not one of them. She could feel Callie's breathing deepen and thought she might fall asleep where she was.

Erica had never been a processor, didn't see much point in going over the details of something like this over and over again, but one thought had nagged at her for the last hour.

"Callie?"

"Hm?"

"What did George say to you?"

Callie didn't stir from her place on Erica's chest.

"Um…he said my getting involved with you might put Allie at risk."

Erica tried to remain calm, but what the hell had O'Malley meant by that? She could tell Callie was sleepy and didn't want to disturb her with the anger coursing through her, ready to be expelled, so she breathed deeply and said nothing. George was a dead man.

Callie stirred anyway, adjusting herself so she was even closer to Erica. "I mean, he said David would find it easier to sue for custody if I got involved with you."

The anger flared again. Erica wanted to hold David's heart in her hands. She wanted to strangle the life out of him and George and Mark Sloan and anyone else that messed with Callie. She breathed deeply again. She wished she could deny it, but as much as she hated to admit it, their involvement would probably make it easier for David to mess with Callie and Allie. It wouldn't be automatic and his chances of success were still limited, especially in Washington, but it was possible. The wrong judge, the wrong time and their lives would be ruined. She needed to talk to Danielle.

"Callie, I'm sorry." She squeezed the body wrapped around her, not know knowing what else to do.

"S'okay. Still want you. We'd find a way to fight him," said Callie in a sleepy voice.

George was such a dead man.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 21 – Gretchen makes a reappearance, but Callie pretty much has Gretchen's number.

A/N Note # 2: Believe it or not folks, I am starting the wind down of this story. There are still a few chapters left and I keep thinking of adding some on, but for the most part, we are in the final stages of this drama, so the end is in sight.


	21. Chapter 21

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 21)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** **Happy Birthday Hotlips247! I apologize for any mistakes, sometimes editing is not your friend, but anyway, blame Hotlips247 as I put this chapter together quickly to get it out for her(?) birthday.**

**Another step forward. Have you noticed how Callie's always making the first moves in this relationship? Just noticed that...**

* * *

Chapter 21

Callie walked into the resident's lounge looking around for a place to just sit for awhile. She sighed at how crowded the place seemed and headed towards Yang who was lounging with a chart on the couch, taking up two seats. Callie was not used to being here during peak hours. On most days she had the afternoon and overnight shifts, a result of her desire to spend as much time as she could with Allie when she was younger. But Webber had mysteriously pulled her into the more regular daytime shifts. She hadn't asked for it and knew she should be happy about it. Allie was in school full time now and was gone for most of the day, so she only needed to worry about daycare for the afternoon if she was working days. Allie loved having her most evenings and nights. But right now working days had its downside. It had also meant less time spent with Erica.

It had been two weeks since the whole Sloan fiasco and Erica's declaration that she needed space from Callie. They still had dinners together, which was a plus because she thought Erica was actually warming up to her a little during those dinners. They hadn't wanted to disturb the kids' routines dramatically so they had kept up that ritual, but Lucas and Erica left straight after dinner. The overnights had stopped since she was no longer working the night shift. That had meant the end of naps in the morning in Erica's bed and sadly it was the end of breakfast together for the four of them.

It had been like day and night the transition from being kind of together to not being together. Callie had held on to Erica that fateful night as long as Erica let her, which turned out to be about four in the morning. At four they had finally parted, her to Allie's room and Allie's extra bed and Erica to her own room. Callie had hoped the change wouldn't be abrupt, that the boundaries Erica wanted wouldn't take her completely out of Callie's life. It hadn't, but it still sucked. When she thought about it now, she laughed at her own naivety. Nothing but having Erica completely and fully would make it not suck.

But still the separation had felt abrupt, even if she still got to see Erica. It had felt harsh to not be able to touch her whenever she wanted, to not see her every morning and to have to wait until nighttime to spend any time with her. Add to that the fact that Erica's walls seemed to go up fast and high around Callie and the result was complete and utter suckiness. Erica was normal with the kids, but with Callie it was short one or two word answers and definitely no smiles. But Callie also had reason to be encouraged. The frequent dinners seemed to be warming things between her and Erica. Erica had almost smiled at her yesterday.

Erica had said she needed space and Callie was trying to give it to her. She didn't disturb Erica at work unless it was work related. She respected Erica's boundaries that dinner was the only meal they would share. But she didn't want Erica to pull away from her completely and she was scared that it might happen before she could do something about it. She needed to prevent that which is why she was looking for a place to just sit and think about what she was going to do. She shoved Christina's legs to the side and sat next to her. Christina moved to a sitting position without a word, her focus still on her chart.

"I'm getting an article out of this guy," she said to Callie.

"What?" Callie answered confused. She hadn't been listening.

"An article, I said I could get an article out of this guy."

"Yeah, that's great."

"It's not just great. It's awesome. I got to scrub in on this guy's procedure and actually do something. Gretchen showed up late, so Hahn let me do most of it."

Callie had been hearing more and more stories like that about Gretchen since she started day shifts.

"What's up with Gretchen? Isn't that weird behavior?" asked Callie.

"Whatever, she can continue it if I get to scrub in."

Suddenly a shadow loomed overhead.

"Hello Ladies. Yang, Torres," Gretchen nodded in their direction.

Callie and Christina looked up. Gretchen was standing over them a can of coke in her hand.

"Sorry I was late, but it finally gave you a chance, huh Yang?"

"You better watch yourself. Hahn was pissed."

Gretchen dismissed Yang's warning. "Nah, that's all bravado. She loves me. She has to do that for your benefit."

"Then someone should give her an Emmy because it sure felt like she was pissed," answered Yang.

Callie could not contain her displeasure. "That's not how Dr. Hahn operates. If she's pissed at you, she lets you know. If she was acting pissed, then she was pissed."

Gretchen made a face at her. "Well you would know, right Torres? I believe she's stopped talking to you altogether."

Callie stood up from the couch and got right in Gretchen's face.

"You don't know anything about us, so I suggest you keep your smarmy little comments to yourself."

Gretchen smiled but stepped back. "Struck a nerve, did I? Don't worry Torres. I don't really care. It was bound to happen. Hahn's not really your type is she? Missing some vital equipment, well for you anyway."

"I'm warning you. Stop now," answered Callie fists clenched.

Christina stood between them. "Alright cut it out. This is a hospital. Gretchen you can have the couch. Come on Torres."

Gretchen shrugged her shoulders and sat. "See ya," she said to the retreating figures. "Oh and Torres," she called out loudly. "You might want to keep your evening free. Erica will probably need a babysitter tonight. We're having dinner together."

Callie's face blanched. Erica hadn't mentioned babysitting for Lucas, so she hoped that Gretchen was lying. She had promised space, but dating?

"Torres, let's go. Just forget about her."

Callie followed Christina out, trying desperately not to panic.

* * *

"I swear to god Christina, one of these days I'm gonna deck her."

"Relax Torres. She's just obnoxious. Besides I have a feeling she's not going to be here much longer. I think Hahn's just about done giving her passes."

"I don't know why she's given her even one. She certainly doesn't let anyone else make mistakes without calling them on it."

Christina looked at her. "What's going on with you two anyway? And do you know why Bambi's suddenly become Hahn's new whipping boy?"

"George? Really? No idea."

They had been making their way to the cafeteria and entered it now. Callie went to place her coffee order at the coffee stand that had been set up not too long ago.

Christina was looking at her expectantly. "And? You and Hahn? What's going on there?"

Callie frowned. "We kind of broke up."

"WHAT? Were you even together? I know you kissed, but you said you weren't together-together yet. Was it the Sloan thing?"

"For exactly one day. We were together for one day," she sighed as she looked at the clerk and placed her order purposely ignoring Christina's question about the Sloan fiasco. She looked at Christina who was standing there looking dumbfounded. "Christina? What do you want?"

"Oh right, let me just pick my jaw up off the floor here." She turned to the clerk. "Just regular coffee, black," she said to him before turning her attention back to Callie. "Explain."

They picked up their orders and made their way to an empty table.

"I thought you didn't speak girl?" teased Callie.

"This is about the pool. Someone won and I need to figure out who."

Callie gave her a serious looked and pointed a finger at her. "First the pool is so not over. Second I'm not helping you with that. When Erica finds out she'll start cutting hearts out. Seriously and neither you nor little miss Erica loves me are going to be immune to her wrath."

"What do you mean it's not over? You guys broke up. That means you had to be together even if it was just for a day. What day was it? Was it the day you kissed?"

"We're going to get back together, I just need some time."

"Yeah but you were together for a day, right?"

Callie glared at her. "I'm not telling you which day," she said.

"Fine, then get back together soon. I still have a shot at this."

Callie glared at her. "Okay Yang, for you. I'll get her back for you," she said sarcastically.

Yang smiled, a rare occasion really before taking a sip from her cup. Callie wrapped her hands around her cup and frowned.

"Do you think Erica likes her?"

"Who?" asked Yang.

"Gretchen," said Callie.

"Well, Gretchen's been getting a lot of attention from Erica lately, but I don't think its good attention. No. I don't think she likes-likes her and I don't think she's been to happy with her work since she got here. If they're spending any time together it's so Hahn can yell at her. Maybe Hahn's having dinner with her to fire her all Jerry McGuire style."

"Yeah, that would be good," said Callie feeling a little better. She didn't need to be worrying about Gretchen on top of everything else.

* * *

It was weird to be on the same schedule as Erica but not be doing everything together. More than once this week they were pulling into their respective driveways at almost the same moment. It was even weirder to leave at the same time to drop off their kids at school, but that had only happened once. After that she and Allie always walked out to an empty driveway across the street. Inevitably though, Erica's car would be the first one lined up at the school with Lucas and Erica waiting for the doors to open.

Today though she was late, the result of an emergency surgery late in her shift. She hadn't heard anything from Erica about babysitting tonight, so she assumed Gretchen was just off her rocker about having dinner with Erica. It didn't stop the twisting and wrenching in her stomach though. Erica not asking her didn't mean she wasn't going to dinner with Gretchen. In fact, it would make sense for her not to ask Callie, given the situation. Erica didn't have to ask her to sit Lucas. She was perfectly capable of getting another babysitter.

She pulled onto her street and started scanning the driveways looking for Erica's house, her landmark, the one that made her slow down the car and reluctantly turn left onto her own driveway. She did it every night. Tonight would suck because even if Erica had not gone out with Gretchen, Callie had missed dinner anyway. It was the only time she got to see and spend any decent time with Erica. She thought they would be awkward at first, but it had been easy to not talk to each other so much. The kids had done most of the talking those first few days and they found that they could have a relatively normal dinner if they kind of let the kids set the conversational pace. It had been a good way to start.

After a few days it had been easier to talk to each other again. Erica was indeed warming up to her. She no longer spoke in clipped short phrases that lacked the warmth she had come to associate with Erica. She had even smiled at Callie last night. Callie had no plan yet, but she was gaining confidence with every dinner that she would figure something out, she would figure out a way to convince Erica to take a chance, that her and Allie were worth it.

She saw the black SUV right where it should be and became excited. Gretchen was a liar. Callie had missed dinner, but Allie was over there. Callie was fairly confident that Erica would take both Lucas and Allie across the street. Besides, if she knew Nell, Nell would not want to stay the extra hours. These days she was all about her new boyfriend and not the extra money she earned with extra hours. She was about to turn left, thought better of it and decided she would park in Erica's driveway instead. She maneuvered the car to the right and hit the brakes hard when her headlights illuminated a car already parked in her space.

"Son of…"

She backed out onto the street quickly and resigned herself to making the left turn she made every night. She parked in her driveway and got out leaving her bag in the car. She looked at her house and smiled. It was completely dark. She made her way across the street eyeing the car parked neatly next to Erica's. It wasn't Danielle's blue Honda. She wondered what kind of car Sam owned and if Sam and Danielle were over. She passed the windows of the somewhat darkened car and peered inside, a look of disgust on her face at what she saw. The car was littered with the remains of about a thousand fast food dinners, both front and back seat. There was no way Danielle would go anywhere in this car, so she eliminated them from the list of possible suspects. She saw a jacket that looked familiar draped across the front seat covering more discarded fast food containers. She looked closer noting familiar lettering on the jacket. She couldn't read it from where she was standing, but was fairly certain this was a Seattle Grace Hospital lab coat. So someone from the hospital was here?

She hurried to the door and took out the key to Erica's house, the one she had not given back. Erica had not asked for it and Callie, not wanting to give up, had not mentioned it. She stopped, thinking over her decision. She had promised Erica space. How would it look if she just barged in and invaded Erica's privacy? But something could be wrong. Figuring the key was out already, she put it in the lock and turned. She walked in to the sound of silent tapping and looked around hurriedly. Gretchen was lying rather comfortably on Erica's couch, a laptop on her stomach. Erica was reading something while she walked the edges of the living room. She looked up surprised as Callie walked in.

"Callie?" she asked a little confused.

Callie tried to ignore the rolling in her stomach. She also ignored Gretchen and her very relaxed and too familiar demeanor.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Thanks for taking Allie."

She hadn't actually seen Allie, had just assumed from her dark house that Nell was no longer there and that Allie was here. She had been confident of that as she walked in, but looking around at the very clean living room, in a very quiet house made her question her assumptions. Erica alleviated her fears.

"Their upstairs," she said smiling at Callie.

Callie smiled back, but her eyes turned to Gretchen who was on the couch, looking up at her with a twisted smile. Erica followed Callie's gaze until it landed on Gretchen as well and frowned.

"Hey get your shoes off my couch," she said harshly. She turned back to Callie who was feeling more and more relieved by the minute.

"Gretchen wanted my help on an article. I'm just reviewing it for her. Allie's upstairs. She's… She's had her bath and is kind of in pjs. They're upstairs picking a story," said Erica a little awkwardly.

Erica seemed nervous, but Callie was beaming.

_Way to go Allie._

"I'll just go and check on her and let you finish," said Callie, but she wasn't moving.

It was almost like old times. Allie was upstairs effectively getting ready for bed, something she had not done in this house in close to two weeks. There was no way she was taking Allie back home. She just needed to get rid of Gretchen.

It came to her just like that, what she had to do. She wanted Erica. She wanted to be with her like they had been before. Addison was right. They had skipped the romance and just started making this family, but that didn't mean the romance wasn't there. In fact, she knew it had been there the whole time. They had just pushed it into the background, a task made easier by the very real problems and tasks of raising children that they were facing together. She needed to bring the romance back to the foreground and incorporate it into what they already had.

So with that in mind and forgetting all of Erica's talk about needing space, she stepped towards her like she had so many times, placed her hands on Erica's waist and kissed her cheek. It was a natural greeting that she had given countless times. She lingered a little as an acknowledgement that while the kiss was friendly and chaste, it meant more. She moved her hands to Erica's stomach, a place she had just gravitated towards from the beginning and pushed herself off a little. Erica allowed her actions. Callie wasn't sure if that was due to shock or something else. She chose not to dwell on it and just be grateful that she had allowed it.

With a final look at Gretchen, she headed for the stairs. "Be right back," she shouted at the both of them

* * *

Erica was dumbfounded. She was standing there with Gretchen's article loosely grasped in her hand watching Callie casually take her stairs. She had been shocked by Callie's presence; shocked to see her here earlier than she had expected and shocked to see her just letting herself in.

Gretchen had showed up about thirty minutes ago pleading and begging Erica to review the article she was submitting. The deadline was tonight, so she needed it reviewed tonight. It had irritated her like so many things about Gretchen were irritating her. Erica had yelled at her, told her that this behavior was unacceptable and unprofessional and then made her wait while she finished getting the kids to bed. She had expected Callie to be late, past the kids bed time late, so she had told Allie to get ready for bed fully intending her to spend the night, hoping that would be okay with Callie, that she would not just show up and pull Allie out of her bed like she had a couple of weeks ago.

She thought she wouldn't, but with Callie she never really knew. She hadn't expected Callie to run away from her after they had made love. She hadn't expected Callie to run to Mark the next day. She hadn't expected Callie to kiss her in front of the kids, so really how was she supposed to know what to expect?

She glanced at Gretchen who was looking at her perplexed and then returned her attention to the papers in her hand, pacing up and down and trying hard to concentrate on the words on the page. The article was badly written, so it was a good distraction. Medical journal articles were not difficult to write and she had seen other articles by Gretchen so she was surprised that this one was so bad. The introduction was unclear, her conclusions sounded vague and just looking at the data included in the article made her cringe, because it didn't make sense.

"You're not really planning on turning this in tonight, are you?" she asked handing the pages back to Gretchen who sat up and placed her laptop on the coffee table.

"Why wouldn't I?" Gretchen asked clearly annoyed.

"Because it will be rejected. The writing is shoddy and a little unclear. You can probably fix that tonight or the editors will do it for you but the data doesn't make sense. You need to recheck your numbers. They don't seem right. They're off. Any idiot can tell that."

"They're right. I've triple checked."

"Then check again," said Erica.

Erica didn't believe her. If her recent work was any indication Gretchen had taken shortcuts. She had been doing that a lot lately. Erica had already spoken to her about her subpar performance, told her that if she didn't see improvement, she would send her back to Presbyterian. She had spoken to Webber today about sending her back and asked to have Yang on her service permanently. He had been resistant, told her he would think about it. He knew Yang was talented, so she thought there was a chance she could get Yang. If she did, Thomas was going back, If she didn't she would consider giving her another chance. She had also mentioned Callie in her talk with Webber. She had asked whether he planned to take her on as an attending once her residency was over, but he had refused any further discussion of Callie. She had left his office frustrated.

She was musing over all of this when she heard Gretchen again.

"What's up with her?"

"Who?" asked Erica looking at her.

Gretchen looked towards the stairs and shifted her eyes up. "Her. She acts like she owns this place, just waltzing in here. You should take her key."

"Her daughter is here. She can waltz in here anytime," said Erica coldly.

"Okay. Listen Erica, can you point out what data I need to recheck?"

Erica reluctantly walked around the couch to sit next to Gretchen. She wanted Gretchen gone. She wanted time to think about how Callie had just acted and how she should respond before Callie came downstairs. She took the papers roughly from Gretchen's hands and started looking through them again. She reached for the pen lying on the coffee table and found her hand ensnared by Gretchen.

"I got it," said Gretchen quietly as she squeezed Erica's hand.

Erica took her hand back and turned it over palm side up.

"Well? Hand it over," she said impatiently.

Gretchen handed her the pen and Erica commenced looking through the papers again, quickly circling all the places where the data looked off.

"Look this whole section here doesn't make sense. It's like you took data from two different patients."

Gretchen moved closer leaning into Erica under the guise of looking at the areas Erica was pointing to.

_Oh, what the hell?_

Okay, she'd had enough of Gretchen's touchy feely behavior. She had tried to ignore her, not wanting her to feel completely alienated. She knew hospital politics and she knew the other residents had been resentful of Gretchen's appearance in their midst, but Gretchen was not getting Erica's not so subtle hints. She had warned her off in the resident's lounge the time Gretchen had placed her hand on Erica's back, she thought she had been pretty clear by the gruff way she had addressed Gretchen after the hand squeezing just now. This was too much.

"Gretchen,"

"Yeah," said Gretchen in a breathy voice.

"If you don't move to the other side of the couch, I'm going to toss you over there."

Gretchen moved.

"Hey," said a voice from behind them.

"Hey," said Erica standing up quickly.

Callie's eyes were dancing just a little and she seemed to be holding back a smirk. Erica turned to Gretchen.

"Look, I've pointed out all the sections I think are wrong. I would check the data again before you submit."

She handed the papers back.

"Okay, what about the rest of it? I mean, I thought the introduction was okay, but the conclusion…"

"Gretchen it's late. I told you already you should have given this to me weeks ago. I'm sorry your deadline is midnight, but I've given you all the help I'm going to give you tonight. We are not at the hospital. This is my home and I'm not working tonight. I think it's time you left."

Gretchen closed her laptop. "But if we can just..."

"Did you not hear her?" asked Callie standing close to Erica.

"Alright, I can see you're tired," Gretchen said, ignoring Callie. She packed up her laptop. "Come on Torres, I think Erica needs her rest."

Callie took off her jacket in response and went to hang it up in the closet. "I think she asked you to go," she said.

Erica was looking at the two of them trying to fill in the gaps she thought were missing. She knew that Gretchen wasn't exactly Callie's favorite person, but this active dislike between the two of them was new to her. They were in different departments and even though they were both fifth year residents, their specialties didn't really bring them in contact with each other a lot, so she wasn't quite sure where the dislike originated. She thought back briefly to that conversation ages ago where Callie had expressed dislike at the suggestive way Gretchen talked about her, but Erica thought that was just a part of the flirty game they had been playing.

Gretchen had always been socially inappropriate, but at Presbyterian she had also been a hard working and very brilliant resident. Erica had heard passing conversations about Gretchen's sexual conquests at Presbyterian, but it never really seemed to affect her work which was all Erica cared about. She knew Gretchen had been acting a little differently since she arrived at Seattle Grace, but Erica had never been into delving into people's personal lives, so she hadn't really asked. She had been too distracted with Callie to notice Gretchen. She had noticed the unwanted advance on the couch, but she thought she had dealt with that pretty well. Gretchen had moved. It was making her head hurt. All of this personal crap was making her head hurt.

"I think she meant both of us," said Gretchen. She had her laptop in her hand and was staring at Callie with a look of pure dislike that was making Erica angry.

"Hey," she said getting Gretchen's attention. She walked up to her. "I didn't ask Callie to leave."

"But if you're tired…I mean why does she get to stay?" asked Gretchen sounding like a child whining about how unfair a parent was being.

"Because she's Callie. Goodbye Gretchen. Close the door on your way out."

She walked into the kitchen intent on making coffee.

Both Callie and Gretchen watched Erica disappear into the kitchen.

"I'll show you out," said Callie turning to Gretchen with a wide smile. Gretchen had miraculously put on a happy face again.

"Thanks Torres," she gathered her papers and walked towards the door.

"Don't do anything I would do, oh wait a minute that's right, you don't. You're not gay."

Callie resisted the urge to slam the door, but she did not resist the urge to lock it forcefully turning every lock and bolt and finally putting on the flimsy little retro chain the door had.

She took a deep breath and turned to the kitchen.

_Alright Torres, walk tall and don't take no for an answer._

* * *

Continued in Chapter 22 – The last of Erica's flimsy walls tumble.


	22. Chapter 22

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 22)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Not entirely happy with parts of this chapter, but approaching that whole over-editing thing where I start to get afraid that I'm changing too much and losing the original intent of the chapter, so here it is.

Erica resists, Callie puts up a pretty good fight.

* * *

Chapter 22

Callie took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. She found Erica pouring water into the coffee maker.

"You making enough for me too?" she asked.

Erica gave her a shy smile. "I wasn't sure you were staying."

Callie walked up to her and pushed her gently to the side. "Let me," she said.

She checked the coffee and shook her head. "You really weren't making enough for me. I missed dinner, the least you could do is offer me coffee."

She glanced at Erica who looked slightly confused. "Sorry, there are left-over's in the fridge," answered Erica.

"Chinese or chicken nuggets?" asked Callie playfully as she re-did Erica's work pouring in more coffee grounds, adding a little cinnamon to the mix and pouring more water.

"Chinese," said Erica laughing a little.

"I was kidding. I ate earlier at the hospital."

"So, are you taking Allie?" asked Erica bluntly.

"No, I read them a story. I hope you don't mind, they wanted to stay in the bunk beds. They were kind of excited about sleeping in the same house again."

"No, no, I know. That's where I was going to put them."

"They're waiting for you to say goodnight. Why don't I finish the coffee and you can go up and say goodnight."

"Okay. Will you still be here when I get back?" asked Erica unsure.

"Oh yeah, I'll be here."

"Okay," said Erica again and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

Ten minutes later Erica was slowly making her way downstairs trying to think of how she should act. Something had changed with Callie. She was no longer shy and timid with Erica trying hard to give her the space that she had asked for. Erica made it to the bottom of the stairs and stopped. She looked towards the kitchen. She heard the sound of a cabinet door opening and closing, the gentle scratching of cups being dragged on a counter and other things she could not decipher. Callie was still in the kitchen. It was only with Callie that she heard those kitchen noises. She had been missing them for the last two weeks. The kitchen had seemed cold and sterile since Callie had stopped coming over. It was silly, but it seemed even the kitchen had missed Callie. She could smell the coffee Callie was making and sighed as she continued to stand at the foot of the stairs, wanting some direction, some clarity.

She had tried separating her life from Callie's, but it wasn't working. It was ridiculous; the two of them living separate lives. Everything about the situation was not working. Lucas was constantly pissed at her and she was being testy with him. He hated that Callie and Allie weren't coming over for breakfast and hated leaving Callie's right after dinner.

The first night he had been perplexed but had gone with little protest. They had spent the night finishing homework and watching television. The second night he had thrown a colossal tantrum when they got home. She had let him scream and rant on the living room floor until he tired himself out, occasionally wiping the tears that formed on her own face. He didn't understand any of it. He had eaten half his breakfast the next morning without speaking to her, but he was not a naturally quiet child, so he peppered her with questions in the car as they waited for the school doors to open. At that point, she had been sick of thinking about her and Callie and so she had gotten short with him, telling him that it was grown up stuff and that he would understand when he was older.

The next morning he had told her how stupid it all was. He had just come right out and said it.

"Mom, this is stupid. Aunt Cal is right there," he had said pointing behind him where Callie and Allie had just pulled up.

She had looked at him point blank and said, "You're right Lucas. This is really stupid." She was exhausted, her arm braced against the driver's side door was holding up her head. She looked at him. "Go, you know you want to wait over there with them."

He at least had the decency to say thanks before bolting from her car with his backpack and running to Allie and Callie, leaving her to contemplate his assessment. The first time she had sat in the car watching them through her rear view mirror until the school doors opened and the kids were let in. But after that first morning, she just drove away as soon as she saw him with Callie. That had become the new routine. They would drive up; he would talk about Callie and Allie for awhile and then run off as soon as he saw them.

And every time, her assessment of the situation was the same as Lucas's.

_This is really, really stupid._

Yep the whole separation thing was stupid, but she had started it and didn't quite know how to end it. She missed Callie. She missed Allie. She missed them, the four of them.

She hated that she and Callie didn't talk at work. She didn't have that many friends there, had never bothered to really make any except for Yang and Callie, so it felt particularly lonely now that Callie was working a regular shift. It was funny how she had never felt alone at the hospital before, but somehow having Callie there and not being able to talk to her made her feel very alone. But she was the one that had asked for space, so it made sense that she would be the one to pay the price.

She had been trying to figure out how to resolve this in her head for a few days. She wanted Callie, wanted to be with her and Callie had told her she was ready for a relationship as well, that the thing with Sloan had been her kind of gay panic. She didn't know if she could trust Callie on that yet. Actually she didn't know what gay panic was having never panicked about that herself, but this separation was killing her and so reluctantly she always came back to Lucas's conclusion that the whole thing was stupid.

It was stupid to look forward to dinner every night because she got to see Callie and then get there and not talk to her. It was stupid to make Lucas leave after dinner when all she wanted to do was stay. It was stupid to leave a few minutes earlier for school when they should all be leaving together. Things would be so much simpler if her and Callie had not already intertwined their lives so much. If there was no Lucas and no Allie, she could just leave, find somewhere else to work. But then without Lucas in her life, she might still be at Presbyterian. She might never have made it to Seattle Grace, might not have met Callie at all. That thought always made her head spin. She knew this separation thing had to end when she could not imagine having not met Callie. Yet Erica didn't know how to end the separation, how to deal with her fear that Callie would run from her again despite the things she had said two weeks ago.

So here she was standing at the foot of the stairs thinking about what she was going to do next. She didn't have a plan, which was rare for her. She always had a plan, but in this, with Callie she had never been able to actually formulate one. It was probably why they had gotten together in the way that they had. Resolving to follow Callie's lead, she headed for the kitchen. Something had happened with Callie. She didn't know what it was, but Callie was apparently done with giving her space. She had kissed her. She had touched her and now she was here letting Allie sleep over and apparently not leaving. She took a breath, tried to clear her mind and walked into the kitchen.

* * *

Erica walked in just as Callie was mixing hot milk with her delicious coffee. Callie turned to her.

"Hey, I figured this is our drink of choice for big talks, so I made a batch."

"Are we going to have a big talk?" asked Erica sitting down at the island.

"You tell me," said Callie pouring two cups. "I'd like to. I've missed you. You and Lucas."

Erica accepted the cup. She closed her eyes as she sipped, smiled, then opened them again. "I've missed you too. And Allie. And this coffee."

Callie sat with her own cup smiling widely. "Glad you still like it. Thanks for letting Lucas sit with us in the mornings."

Erica frowned. "Well, Lucas doesn't like me much these days. He doesn't understand why things can't be the way they were before. He says I'm acting stupid."

Callie was surprised. "Erica you can't let him talk to you like that. I know he's frustrated, but..."

Erica smiled. "You have it so easy, you know. Allie is an angel, but Lucas, he can be so strong willed."

"Like his Mom," said Callie.

"Maybe, but he's right. It is stupid. What we've been doing is stupid."

Callie put her cup down carefully. "What....what are you saying?" she asked concern lacing her words.

"I'm saying that this isn't working."

Callie got up abruptly. This was her nightmare. That Erica would decide she couldn't do the friend thing either before Callie could convince her that a romantic relationship was worth the risk. Her first instinct was to leave. She didn't want to kind of break-up again. She didn't want to hear about separations or routines, but she couldn't leave either. Leaving would accomplish nothing.

"Please don't make another speech about how we need to separate our lives."

"Would you like to go out with me?" asked Erica, but Callie kept talking.

"Because I don't think we can anymore. Separating our lives isn't working because we should be together. I don't want to separate our lives." Callie stopped, her eyes opened wide as Erica's question registered. "Did you just ask me out?"

"Yes?" asked Erica sounding unsure.

"Okay how do we go from this isn't working to go out with me?"

Erica was looking at her nervously. "I don't think this whole separation thing is working out, so I just thought... We could maybe try…"

Callie waited for Erica to finish her thought, trying to ignore the back flips her heart was doing and wondering how high her blood pressure could get before she stroked out, but nothing further was coming from Erica.

"Erica?" she said trying not to sound impatient.

Erica laughed into her cup. "Nothing. That was impulsive me talking."

Now Callie was getting pissed. "Erica you really need to finish that thought."

Erica said nothing and continued to stare at the cup in front of her. Callie walked over to her, pulled the coffee cup out of her hands and stood between Erica's legs, cupping her face with both hands.

"Did you just ask me out?" she repeated her earlier question.

"Yes, I did," said Erica trying in vain to remove Callie's hands from her face. "But nothing has changed. You're not gay. Just because this separation thing isn't working out doesn't mean you want to be with me...in the way I want you to be. You're not gay."

"Yes, I'll go out with you."

"I mean you and Mark seem to have some sort of....I don't know...connection I guess and you're not gay, so I understand that."

"Erica, stop and listen to me."

"What?" said Erica now trying to stand to get away.

Callie maintained her ground, her hands still cupping Erica's face, trying desperately to keep Erica in her chair. She knew if Erica wanted to, she could get physical and shove her, but until she did that, Callie was staying where she was. Erica did not push, but she was still struggling to remove herself from Callie, so Callie did the only other thing she could. She leaned in and kissed her. She put aside the fears and concentrated on what was in front of her, what she wanted, what she had been wanting for months now. She pressed her lips to Erica's let out a moan of relief as she felt Erica respond and just went with the emotion.

The kiss was slow and deep and went on for minutes neither of them quite ready to stop. Callie tangled her hands in Erica's hair as she felt Erica's arms wrap themselves around her, urging her closer. Finally air became a necessity and the kisses slowed until Callie pulled away, her hands still in Erica's hair.

"Did you not hear me?" she asked again softly with a smile.

"Did you say something?" asked Erica still looking a little dazed from the kiss.

"Yes, I would love to go out with you."

"On a date, a real date?" asked Erica still looking unsure.

"A date date," Callie said going for another kiss.

This one was all fire, fiery red and hot. Erica stood up pulling Callie closer to her until their thighs were intermingled. She pulled her lips from Callie suddenly, but kept Callie in her embrace.

"You are dangerous," said Erica breathing hard and with a tone Callie could not decipher.

Callie looked at her. "So are you," she joked as she tried withdrawing wanting to put some distance between their overheated bodies, knowing they needed to talk. Erica held on tighter.

"Just give me a minute," said Erica relaxing her hold after a few seconds, but leaving her arms wrapped loosely around Callie.

Callie laid her head on Erica's shoulder as they both waited for their breathing to return to normal.

"I wish I could tell you that I would accept whatever you have to offer Callie."

Callie was confused. She thought a talk was in order after what had just happened, but she wasn't expecting that opening line.

She raised her head and looked at Erica letting her confusion show. Erica continued to hold her but met Callie's look. It was open and a little sad which caused Callie's stomach to clench in response.

"I don't understand," she said.

Finally Erica let go. She ran her hands through her hair and sat back down.

"A better person would tell you that they would accept whatever you had to offer even if it was just friendship." She stared into her almost empty cup.

Callie went to the carafe where she had put the batch of cafe con leche and poured her and Erica another cup.

"I thought you were offering me more, that we were offering each other more," said Callie.

Erica looked at her, confusion clouding the usually vibrant blue eyes. "I want to. I am offering you more, but I need to be sure that you're willing to take what I offer without regrets or doubts. I don't want to be an experiment Callie. I know there are no guarantees, but if you're unsure, then this has to end and ending means ending. No more dinners, no more hanging out with the kids. I wish I could offer you my friendship if ultimately that's all you're interested in, but I'm discovering that I can't. These last two weeks have been really hard and seeing you everyday, well it's just not working. I can't be just your friend."

She was giving Callie a sad apologetic look. "Callie, I want you. I want you so badly that I can't seem to… I can't turn that off."

"I don't want you to," said Callie edging closer to Erica. "I want this too. I don't know how many times I have say this for the message to get through. I love you and I want this," she said.

Erica sighed. "Callie the last time I heard you said you wanted this...Mark Sloan happened." Callie flinched.

"I love you Callie. I'm in love with you, but I don't want to be your lesbian experiment and I can't just be your friend. You will never be just a friend to me. I can't imagine being a bridesmaid at your wedding. It would kill me. I'm not that person."

"You don't have to be that person. I love you too. I want this, the whole thing. I want the friendship and the kissing and everything. I want all of you."

"Why did you run? Why didn't you talk to me?" asked Erica changing gears.

Callie let out a frustrated breath. "Two weeks ago I panicked okay? I panicked big time. I was all in this totally wonderful place after we...and then I let George freak me out. I let him convince me that I was risking Allie, that they would take my child away from me because of this. So I panicked."

"What's different now?" Erica asked. "Does that not freak you out now? Is someone else going to say something that will send you running? Callie I stood in that doorway waiting for you after we had shared something that was pretty important to me, worrying about how to greet you and hoping I could convince to lie down with me and you ripped me to shreds. I can't...have that happen again. So I'm asking you, what's different, what's changed? Right now it's just me and you and this house and the kids and it's great. It feels good and it's just us and the world isn't intruding. But what about later, when Webber has you fill out that stupid who have you been with form? When your friends find out, because George's comment isn't the only one you'll get. People will say all sorts of things to you that they wouldn't if I was a man. How can I trust that you won't go running again?"

Callie smiled at her. "Erica, you have to take a leap of faith. I'm not promising that it won't freak me out. It will. But I want to be with you. That won't change."

Erica put her head in her hands, elbows on the table. "I want to believe that. You have no idea how much I want to believe that, but..."

"There are no guarantees Erica. All I know is what I'm feeling and right now I can't imagine my life without you in it. I tried, but I can't. Right now I want to go upstairs and sleep with you and then wake up with you and never leave. I know this changes everything for me and they'll be some fallout, but you've become a part of me and I can't not have that." She approached Erica again needing the closeness.

"You're not the only one taking a risk Erica. There's risk. I can't will that away and neither can you. David could come back and use this against me, but I can't let him rob me of something that makes me and Allie happy. I can't let him take you away from me, so please believe me, when I say I want this."

Callie could see the uncertainty in Erica's eyes and her heart sank. She wasn't going to be able to do it. She would not be able to convince Erica to take the risk. Deciding that the only thing that had worked so far was the kissing, she leaned in again.

It was almost automatic, Erica's response. No matter what doubts and insecurities were swirling in her head, she always seemed to respond to Callie's lips. Callie sighed into the kiss seeking comfort and security in the touch. To her surprise Erica responded in kind. It was like they were in synch. This kiss, unlike their prior exchanges that fueled fires already too large, simmered in its warmth. It was comforting and sweet and felt just as good as the heated kisses more common for them. She reluctantly pulled away and opened her eyes to look at Erica. How could Erica not see how right this was, how it was worth the risk?

Erica was staring at her, eyes riveted to Callie, and then Callie saw it, saw Erica make the leap and come over to her. Erica leaned her head forward resting it on Callie's.

"You are so amazing," she whispered. "Lucas was right, I've been so stupid." She sighed. "Not to be melodramatic or anything, but I won't survive you leaving again."

"You won't have to," said Callie kissing her lightly. "And you couldn't be stupid if you tried. I'm not going anywhere, Erica. I may freak from time to time, but you have me, all of me for as long as you want me."

They were still embracing. Erica let out a sigh. "Promise?" she asked.

"Yes," said Callie. "Very much, yes."

* * *

An hour later, the coffee was gone and it was just them sitting on the couch slowly taking in the shift in their relationship. The air between them was a mixture of excitement, tension and a small dose of uncertainty. Even after the promises had been made and kisses had been exchanged the knowledge of what they were risking, of how easily it had been shattered before, made them uneasy. Things do not happen in an instant.

They had said the important things, they had even talked playfully about how ridiculous the concept of dating was for the two of them, but it was getting late and they both needed to sleep. They were due at the hospital in the morning and so they needed to rest and replenish much depleted energy if they expected to function. The problem was that neither woman wanted to part. The magic of the moment still hung in the air, mixing with the tension of the change they were embarking on, creating a strange mood that was equal parts elation and worry about what came next.

But it was the magic, held in place by shared kisses, less heated, but coming with increasing frequency, that was keeping them awake. Soft touches that lingered unabashedly added to the aura. They were seated close together on the couch, tangled limbs and arms making unclear beginnings or endings. Callie finally relented acknowledging the reality that lay beyond the aura and the magic.

"It's really late," she said softly, never lifting her head, the words bouncing off the shirt she was resting on. Her hands untangled themselves from Erica's to trace non-existent patterns on Erica's shirt.

"We should get some sleep," offered Erica in a non-committal tone, her hand never letting up on the casual stroking of Callie's hair.

"I don't want to get up," said Callie shifting a leg until it was fully on Erica's lap. One more inch and she would be in straddling territory.

Erica placed a soft kiss on her head as her free hand settled on Callie's leg, holding it there. "You'll probably be more comfortable upstairs."

"That depends," said Callie trying to sound brave and bold. She felt the hand in her hair slow its stroke.

"On what?" Erica's voice was careful, controlled, giving nothing away. She placed warm lips on Callie's head for a long moment.

"On which bed I end up in, exactly." Callie felt Erica's smile on the top of her head.

"Allie's trundle bed not comfortable?" asked Erica removing her lips from Callie's head, still maintaining that careful, controlled tone.

"I can think of a more comfortable place to sleep," said Callie closing her eyes and unconsciously clutching at the cotton shirt under her.

Erica resumed the stroking of Callie's hair, her other hand coming up to caress Callie's face for a few seconds before settling under Callie's chin and shifting it upwards so that she could see Callie's eyes. She caressed the face under her fingers, memorizing the feel and texture until Callie's eyes traveled upwards to meet hers.

"Dr. Torres, are you trying to seduce me?" asked Erica, her eyes glittering with laughter.

Callie laughed at the comment, but her eyes never left Erica's. She lost herself in those eyes, saw them lose their mirth and darken to an impossible blue with desire. It happened fluidly, almost without transition. They had been doing this for an hour, moving between comfortable closeness to an intense longing that inflamed skin and lungs like dried kindling sitting out in the sun.

Erica held Callie's gaze.

"There is nothing I want more than to take you upstairs and make love to you." She saw the flush of heat rise and fall in Callie's face. "But, I'm not sure we're quite ready for that yet. Last time we got ahead of ourselves and it didn't end very well."

Callie leaned hard into the hand caressing her face. "I'll wait as long as you want Erica, but I don't think our being together last time had anything to do with what happened after."

Erica smiled weakly. "Yes, it did Callie. Being physically intimate with you, making love to you made everything that happened after mean more. It might have hurt less if we hadn't."

"You think so? I'm not sure. It hurt like hell to think I'd lost you. I think it would have hurt that badly even if we hadn't made love." Callie's hands were resting on Erica's knee applying a light stroke. "We don't have to do anything, Erica. I just want to lie with you, have you hold me."

"I want that too," said Erica taking a deep breath. "But having you next to me and not being able to ... well I think it might be torture."

"We're adults, Erica."

"Exactly. Sexually charged adults. I don't want to make the same mistakes, Callie."

"Okay," Callie relented. "But now I have absolutely no incentive to get up."

Erica gave her a squeeze. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but lying next to you and not… I just don't think I could do it."

"Oh you could do it. I know you could do it. Really, really well too."

Erica laughed. "That's exactly why we're headed for separate beds. You can take my bed or bunk up with Lucas or Allie, whichever you prefer."

Callie smiled. "I prefer you in bed with me, but I get your point. We're on overload anyway."

Erica nodded but made no move to follow through with the getting to bed plan and continued holding Callie close to her.

* * *

"Erica?"

Erica cleared her throat and tried clearing her head. A low level buzzing had started only moments before, not annoying, but soothing, almost like humming that was lulling her into a dazed unaware consciousness. She tried opening her eyes, but they were being uncooperative. It was a few minutes before she responded.

"Yeah?" she finally answered softly, eyes still closed.

"You and Gretchen..."

"Mm hmm..."

"Well, were you...did you ever...was she ever one of your casual...you know."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I'm not sure what you're asking," said Erica still feeling the heaviness of sleep tugging at her.

"You and Gretchen. Were you ever together?"

"Together?" asked Erica confused by the question. Here brain didn't seem to be processing things very well and her first thoughts were that the question was strange.

"Of course we've been together. We've known each other for years. We're bound to be together at some point. That's a strange..."

Erica was confused but the stiffening of the body under her and the force with which that body was trying to push away from her sent a jolt of energy to her brain and the processors that had been asleep. She finally got the question. Callie had lifted her head, her hands were pushing on Erica's body trying to extricate herself from her comfortable position.

"Wait," said Erica tightening her hold, desperately wanting to keep Callie where she was. Thankfully she was in a better position. Callie had been lying on top of her which meant gravity was on her side. Her grasp was firm, even as she tried gentling her touch, but holding Callie liked this was like holding a skittish cat. The key, Erica knew, was to hang on anyway and so she did, caressing Callie's back and head and arms and anywhere she could reach, even as she held her in place.

"Hey, you've got a very sleepy surgeon here who's been on an emotional acid trip tonight. I didn't understand the question. No, Gretchen and I have never been together as in sexually, romantically or even friendly together. Ever. We've been in rooms together, but now I'm thinking you didn't mean that."

She felt Callie relax into her again, a soft breath and chuckle escaped her.

"Sorry. Not sure why I reacted like that or why I even asked."

"Probably because Gretchen's being a little persistent?" said Erica now understanding not only why Callie asked the question, but why she wanted them in the same bed.

"Try lecherous," she heard Callie mutter.

Erica smiled. Despite all they had said to each other, despite the obvious connection between them, Callie was a little insecure. Erica couldn't blame her. She felt the same way about Mark Sloan. Not knowing if it was a mistake or not, she made a decision.

"Come on," she said to Callie as she set her feet down firmly on the floor and prepared to push both her and Callie from the couch. "Let's try to get some sleep."

Callie was not helping her in her quest to get off the couch and she was having no success lifting both her and Callie, so she slipped from under Callie and stood, reaching for Callie's hands and pulling.

"Come on, you sleep on the right side, right?"

It took a few seconds for her meaning to become clear, but Erica knew the moment it did, saw Callie's full smile emerge as slowly and lovely as the dawn and suddenly Callie was easy to pull and her body crashed into Erica's, but Erica didn't mind. She simply set her feet, braced herself for the new weight and wrapped her arms around Callie. They kissed again and Erica had no more thoughts of mistakes. Her only thought was of this woman in her arms. She knew it would be hard to lie in a bed with Callie and not do the things she really wanted to do, but she could do this. She didn't want to rush things. She needed to feel like they were completely connected before being intimate again. The weaving of their hearts was important, essential. It was happening already and quickly. She felt it, her heart reaching out to Callie's wanting to lose itself in her. But things don't happen instantly. The slow weaving of their hearts would allow the emotional stuff to heal until they were both ready. She could wait. They could wait.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 23 – Gretchen raises the freak-o-meter a notch or two.


	23. Chapter 23

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 23)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Back at Seattle Grace Gretchen continues to be annoying.

* * *

  
Chapter 23

It had been eight hours since the trauma had hit them and Erica was still in surgery. Callie was exhausted. She imagined Erica must be as tired as she was, if not more so, since Erica was still in surgery. Erica had been going almost non-stop since the trauma came in and before that she'd had back to back surgeries during her regular shift. Two carefully planned surgeries for two different patients had presented complications that had them both running longer than expected and kept Erica occupied during most of the day.

Callie watched Erica work through the glass in the scrub room. This was Erica's third and final surgery since the trauma came in. Sometimes multi-vehicle crashes were bad and sometime they were horrible. This one had been worse than horrible. Twelve cars had piled into each other on a busy highway. Puncture wounds and punctured lungs, broken bones, deep lacerations, head traumas, you name it they had seen it from a victim in this crash. She had lost count of the number of bones she had set or how many pins she had put in today. She was sure Erica had had it worse. One of the vehicles was a church van on the way back to a nursing home with its elderly parishioners, many of them with not so strong hearts. Erica of course had been dealt the worst, most complicated cases.

She had wanted to look in on Erica before checking on the kids who had to be brought to the hospital when both she and Erica had been required to stay long past the end of their shifts. So here she was watching Erica work. One of the nurses had projected that the team in with Erica was about an hour from finishing up.

Last night had been incredible. She had finally convinced Erica to take a chance on her and God was she ready to start the rest of their lives. She didn't know what it would entail, what it all meant right now. Should she be coming out to people? She was more comfortable just letting people find out on their own, but she didn't want Erica to think she still had doubts about them. She had wanted to talk to Erica about it, but they had been so busy today that she hadn't even found the time to sneak a cup of coffee in peace, let alone carve out time to talk.

Callie hadn't even shared her good news with Erica yet. Webber had told her she would no longer be working overnights and then he had offered her a job. The only thing that had stopped her from hugging him on the spot was that her trauma had finally arrived and needed attention. She had thanked him though. She had been in denial about her future for awhile. She knew that her residency was ending and that she wanted to take her boards, but she wasn't sure if she should apply for a fellowship to get more expertise in her field or apply for an attending position here or another hospital. He had made her decision easier by offering her a position and suddenly she knew what she wanted. The reason she had made no move to apply for a fellowship or look for another job became clear. She wanted to stay at Seattle Grace. She was meeting him sometime tomorrow to discuss the details.

It would be interesting to see what Webber had to say. Right now though there were a couple of kids hopefully sleeping in pediatrics that she had to check on. It was late, but they were in a strange place and she was worried that Lucas especially would have a hard time sleeping. Taking a long last look she backed out of the scrub room and headed to pediatrics.

* * *

Erica let out a frustrated breath as she worked. She was exhausted and she was pissed. She understood this was their third surgery, but she thought Gretchen had a little more stamina than she was showing tonight. Her work had been getting sloppier and sloppier with every incision and every cut. Erica had finally just taken over figuring the guy had a better chance of living through the surgery even if it would take longer. This is why she had asked for Gretchen, so she could get some help and relief on nights like this. She would need to have a talk with the resident after they finished here. Gretchen was going back. If she wasn't going to be helpful, she might as well go back to Presbyterian.

She spared a glance at the door and saw Yang walk in. Erica knew Christina had been pulled here and there assisting with a number of surgeries that night.

"Anything I can do?" she asked.

Erica hated to do it. She really did because right now she could use a hand, but she couldn't ask anyone else in this room and it had been on her mind, a silent, but persistent distraction she didn't need.

"Yes, Yang. Can you check on my kids?"

She heard the words seconds after they came out of her mouth and silently cursed. As far as everyone in this room knew she had one kid. Oh well, nothing to be done now. If she hadn't been dreaming about what had happened last night with Callie, her colleagues would have to get used to thinking about her having two kids. Besides, she thought Christina would probably know exactly what she was talking about.

"Callie's probably stuck in surgery too, so can you..."

"Sure thing, Erica," Christina interrupted.

"I'll go. Yang looks fresher. I'll check on him," said Gretchen as she stepped away from table. She hadn't waited to be dismissed and Erica considered calling her on it, but then another thought broke through her exhaustion and irritation. I'll check on_ him_? Before Erica could react, Gretchen was gone.

"Yang, get in here and help me so we can finally finish this and I can go check on my kids," she ordered.

"Yes Dr. Hahn," said Christina stepping forward.

"You're being annoying Yang," said Erica. She looked at Christina's eyes momentarily and thought there might be a smile hiding behind the mask she wore.

* * *

Callie made her way to pediatrics. She smiled at the nurse on duty and walked to a small room just beyond the nurse's station where Bailey told her they had put Lucas and Allie for the night. This was the third time her and Erica had been forced to bring the kids to the hospital because of a trauma. She knew Lucas hated it. Having a mom that worked in a hospital, Allie had never been fazed by hospitals, but Erica had explained the awful circumstances surrounding her sister's death. It had taken her a couple of hours to get to the hospital where her sister had died. Lucas had been picked up from school by his grandmother, who had not known what to do with him, so she had brought him to the hospital and left him alone in the waiting room while she dealt with doctors and relatives and arrangements. Erica had found him crying in a chair, his arms wrapped around his legs, his head on his knees. Needless to say, despite that fact that his aunt worked at this hospital, he never liked coming here.

She opened the door carefully. The light was still on. He was sitting in bed, Allie was lying next to him asleep. Lucas was holding her hand, but he was wide awake. His eyes opened wider as he saw her. He let go of Allie's hand and jumped off the bed.

"Can we go home now?" he asked raising his arms automatically. Callie picked him up and hugged him. She sat in the rocking chair next to the bed with Lucas on her lap.

"I think we'll be able to go home soon," she said wrapping her arms around him as he laid his head on her chest. "Why are you still up?" she asked kissing his head and rubbing his back.

"Waiting for you and Mom," he said in a soft voice.

"Well your Mom's not quite finished yet, but I think I'll be able to go soon."

"How long?" he asked.

"About thirty minutes," she answered rocking him.

"How about Mom?"

"She'll be a little longer," she said.

"Where are we going, big house or little house?" he asked raising his head.

She chuckled. They had just started doing that before the whole Sloan fiasco two weeks ago, calling her house the little house and Erica's the big house because it had more rooms. They had explained it to her and Erica over breakfast. They had made an expedition of it and everything counting and naming every room before deciding which was the big house and which the little house. She was glad the idea was still with them even after the two-week hiatus.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked.

"Big house, cause that's where Mom will go when she's done, right?"

"Probably, but we can ask her to just come to wherever we're going to be."

"Okay," he said lying his head back down. "I think the big house cause Mom has a bigger bed."

She smiled. They really had been thorough in their inventory of the house.

"Okay kiddo," she said kissing him again.

She heard a loud voice outside and the nurse's very audible shushing. A few seconds later the door swung open.

"Luc...Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me. Can you keep your voice down?" said Callie looking over at Allie who had been startled and was shifting in her sleep.

"Sorry," said Gretchen lowering her voice. "Erica asked me to come down and check on Lucas. Hey bud how are you?" she reached over to tickle him. He wiggled in Callie's arms and frowned.

"Remember me?" said Gretchen. "I'm Gretchen. Gretchen Samuels."

"Hello Dr. Samuels," he mumbled.

"Aw come on, don't be grumpy little bud."

"It's 11 o'clock. He has spent the majority of the night in a boring hospital. He has a right to be grumpy, right baby?" said Callie.

He smiled into her chest and nodded.

Gretchen stretched. "Rough night," she commented.

"Erica sent you in here to check on Lucas?" asked Callie.

"Yeah, well actually she said to check on her kids. She must be real tired because she just has the one." She yawned.

"Nuh uh," said Lucas. "She has me and Allie."

_That's right Lucas, set this little hussy straight_.

Callie smiled.

Gretchen turned in Allie's direction. "Who's that?" she asked.

"That would be our…my daughter," said Callie.

"Oh right. I forgot you have a kid," she said her voice getting louder.

"Please, keep your voice down," said Callie forcefully. "Look you've checked on the kids. You can tell Erica that I'm taking them home in half an hour."

Gretchen looked confused. "Dr. Torres, she'll be finished in a couple of hours. I'm sure he can wait until then. There's no need for you to take him."

Callie's eyes were blazing. She wanted to push this woman up against a wall and explain things to her, explain that these were their kids, that this was her family, that if anyone was getting into Erica's pants or finding out how good Erica's hands were it would be her. That last thought had her thinking about last night, how wonderful it had been to simply lie with Erica and she missed her opportunity. Gretchen had gotten up abruptly and walked out the door.

"She's not very bright is she?" she said out loud. Lucas shook his head.

"She doesn't know anything," he said his voice sounding sleepy.

* * *

Gretchen needed to make a quick stop at her locker before returning to the surgery that she hoped would be over by the time she got there. She knew she had been sloppy, her energy levels had been completely zapped by the day's events and so she needed to stop by her locker to re-charge before returning to the OR. But the effects wouldn't really be immediate enough, so she hoped they would be done by the time she scrubbed back in.

It was amazing to her. All her life, she had been afraid of taking narcotic substances, buying into the falsehood that they were all-consuming things that ended up taking over your life. What a load of crap!

Maybe some people shouldn't take them. She was a doctor, she knew that drugs could be damaging, but she had figured out the key. It was control plain and simple. If you controlled it, it could not control you. That's where people were wrong about drugs. Sure it was inevitable for some people to lose control, if they were weak, but if you had a tight enough hold on yourself, drugs were perfectly safe. And she had it all under control.

You took just what you needed and no more. If you focused enough, you could tell how much you needed to get you through the day and voila no problem. They had made her life so much simpler. She had started taking them at Presbyterian, just a few here and there to be able to stay ahead of all the other residents. All residents suffered from lack of sleep, logging in too many hours, but she found that she was able to function better and stay ahead of everyone with a boost every now and again. Sure her intake had started to increase, but so had her responsibilities, so that made sense. She was still in control.

She thought of the subpar people she worked with, doctors who were trained to notice things about the body, were trained to see changes and side effects and yet no one had caught on to her. That was how she knew she was in control. She had mastered it and yet she couldn't tell anyone. She had come close. She had wanted to throw it in Torres's face as a demonstration of her superiority. Everyone raved about Torres, how amazing she was having been able to pull off a successful residency and be a single mom. But Ortho was a sucker's specialty. It involved no precision whatsoever. It might as well be a part of general surgery. And while she seemed to be doing it all, Gretchen saw through the martyr act. Callie was wasted. She was tired and it showed. She had lost that fire to excel. She was just trying to get by now and so her star would peter out. It was simply a matter of time.

It ate at her, having this power and not being able to tell people. She had something other people didn't have, she could control something most saw as uncontrollable. She wanted to let everyone know that she had accomplished what no one else had, but she knew that was a mistake. They wouldn't understand. She would have to settle for the superiority she felt in other areas. She smiled to herself as she opened the pill bottle. They were all idiots. Even Erica was unaware, but that was probably because that Torres woman was distracting her with her annoying behavior.

She closed her locker and smiled at herself. In no time she would feel that familiar buzz that signaled a surge in energy. She loved that feeling. Feeling energized just by the thought, she walked out of the locker room and headed back to the operating room she had left ten minutes ago.

As it turned out they had not finished by the time she walked back in to the scrub room. She hated that she needed to scrub in again. She wouldn't be doing anything. What she really wanted was to leave the hospital and enjoy the feelings the pills gave her. She sighed as she finished scrubbing and made her way back into the OR room.

* * *

"Hey, Lucas is okay. He's still awake, but he seemed fine," she reported as she took her place among the attentive interns crowded around Yang and Erica.

"And Allie?" asked Erica sharply, her temper rising.

"Who?" asked Gretchen.

"Allie, the six-year old that was with him."

"Oh her, she was sleeping. Her mother was with her."

"Callie was with the kids?"

Gretchen nodded. "Yeah, she was all weirdly possessive about Lucas. Said she was taking him home with her or something. I told her to stop acting like his mother. Told him to wait that you would come get him when you were done."

Erica stopped what she was doing and stared coldly at Gretchen's masked face. Her hands were beginning to shake.

Yang looked up at her and then at Gretchen. She looked back at Erica. "Callie's with them, so they're fine."

Erica resumed her work with scarily steady hands.

"Callie's not gonna listen to anything Gretchen tells her. You know that right?" said Christina.

"I know," said Erica glancing at Gretchen who was starting to fidget.

Gretchen was rocking back and forth, her eyes darting all over the room. She let out a loud sigh and cracked her knuckles.

"I'm starting to feel refreshed, so I could take over from Yang if you need. I mean this is pretty much a snap and Yang is going so slow."

Gretchen continued talking as Yang worked. Erica looked down at what she was doing letting Gretchen drone on and thinking about Gretchen's odd behavior, her lack of concentration, her tardiness. In some ways Gretchen was no different than she had been at Presbyterian. She had always been obnoxious, but she had what most people would call an over-confidence in her abilities, a trait Erica actually appreciated, especially as Gretchen could back it up. In other ways she was very different than the resident Erica had known. Here at this hospital she had not been backing it up. She was displaying a confidence all out of proportion with the work she had produced. Callie had called her delusional. Was she? She certainly seemed to think she was doing well here, even after Erica had informed her point blank that she was not.

Gretchen worked a lot of hours and it had always impressed Erica how she seemed to relish the challenge of cardio, staying later than other residents, improving her skills by participating in every surgery she could scrub in on, and always up on the latest research. She was working a lot of hours here too, but again she wasn't producing. She was distracted and sloppy even if she seemed to have a lot of energy while she was here. What was she doing with the energy anyway? It certainly wasn't on display today when Erica needed her. In fact, why was she so energetic now when she had been demonstrating nothing but sluggishness earlier?

She came out of her thoughts and heard Gretchen's solitary voice reverberating loudly in the large room.

"Shut up Gretchen. We're trying to work here."

"I'm ready, Erica."

"For what?" asked Erica.

She wished Gretchen would leave, would take her borrowed energy with her out of this room. She stopped, considering the thought. Borrowed energy? And then she saw it. She saw everything. The signs were there, had been there for awhile, but Erica hadn't known to look for them. Why would she? She was bringing in a top-notch surgical resident she was familiar with, someone she didn't need to train, someone whose skills she was confident in. But that wasn't who had come over. Something had happened and she had missed it assuming that all she had to do was get Gretchen here. She hadn't paid attention.

Gretchen's energy levels, always high even as her concentration wavered, her nervousness, her over-confidence, her tardiness, sloppiness, all of it suggested a possibility that before this moment Erica had thought not possible. She finished her task, sparing a moment to make sure everything was going well for Yang before looking at the fidgeting figure looming over Yang's shoulder. The pupils were dilated. She was sweating, and couldn't seem to stand still.

"Dr. Samuels you need to step out of this OR."

"Huh? You done with me for tonight? I could still get in there. Me and Yang could..."

"That's not really possible anymore. You need to leave the OR Dr. Samuels."

Gretchen laughed. "What?"

"You no longer work for this hospital, Dr. Samuels so you can't be in this OR. You're fired. Go pack up your stuff and leave. We'll sort out the details tomorrow."

"What?" Gretchen was still laughing.

Erica couldn't get into this here. She was pretty sure Gretchen was on something, which meant she had to stay the hell away from patients.

"Are you doing this because of her?"

Erica was trying to concentrate on her work. "You need to leave Dr. Samuels or I will have Number 3 over there call security and escort you out."

She was probably not following procedure. HR would tell her that Gretchen would need to be escorted out of the building anyway, that she should call security and not just instruct her to leave. But she was in surgery, had no proof of anything, just a vague sense, and so this would have to do.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't look in on Lucas more closely. I'll just go make sure he's okay and waiting for you."

"No. Lucas is fine. I'm asking you to leave this room."

"Why?" Gretchen was no longer laughing.

This wasn't working, so Erica changed tactics. "Go wait for me in my office, we're almost done here. I'll come and get you."

Gretchen nodded before angrily stepping away and walking out flinging her surgical cap and gloves to the floor before stepping into the scrub room.

"Okay Yang, anyway we can speed this up so I can go deal with that..."

"Freak show?" asked Yang. "No problem Dr. Hahn. One speedy but clean finish coming up."

Erica frowned through her mask. She didn't wanted to deal with Gretchen tonight, but like everything else about this day, it didn't matter what she wanted. It didn't matter that she had hardly slept last night, Callie's closeness stirring up intense desires she could not yet act on, but which had kept her awake. It didn't matter that she just wanted to relax into their first day as a couple, feel the shifts in their interactions deep in her bones, feel Callie and her knitting their lives together in a deeper way than they already had. Instead she had barely seen Callie all day and then the trauma happened and they were both stuck and now she couldn't even look forward to going home with Callie. She took a deep breath, put all thoughts of the personal to the side and concentrated on the heart beneath her hands. Her own heart would have to hold on a while longer.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 24 – Callie goes all cage-fighter on Gretchen

A/N # 2 – I've pegged this at about 26 chapters total so we are nearing the conclusion.


	24. Chapter 24

ust a Simple Love Story (Chapter 24)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: **Sincerest apologies for Gretchen's name change in the last chapter. (She inexplicably went from Samuels to Thomas. This is what happens when you have multiple pieces in your head at once.) I've fixed it now, but again – my apologies for the oversight that neither me nor my fabulous proofreader caught before I posted. **

**In this chapter – Gretchen breaks the freak-o-meter…**

* * *

Chapter 24

Callie was walking around with a very tired and sleepy seven year old hanging on her scrub shirt. The way he was pulling it was an indication of how tired he was. She was gathering her charts wanting to write in the orders that were absolutely necessary, so she could finally leave. Lucas had looked at her with a mixture of fear and anxiety when she laid him back on the bed earlier. He had looked so scared that she felt compelled to ask if he'd like to come with her. He had shaken his head at first and looked at Allie still asleep on the bed.

"She'll be scared," he had said.

So she had gotten one of the interns to come in and sit with Allie in case she woke up and took him with her. She knew he was tired, but she didn't think he'd fall asleep if she left him anyway. She couldn't make him sleep, so she decided to try and make him a little less scared. He stuck close to her, looking around at the people and the machines. She hadn't noticed until now, but hospitals could look really scary at night.

She led him over to the small waiting area just off the nurse's station so they could sit as she completed her charts. Lucas was leaning heavily on her arm, but she could tell he wasn't asleep. She was filling out the last of the charts when she heard the only voice that had always managed to sour her mood.

"What are you doing here?"

Callie looked up from her charts. It was Gretchen, but she was lacking her usual peppiness. Lucas's head snapped up at the sound of her voice and she felt his little body pressing hard against her. Gretchen was walking towards them. She looked strange. Callie rose from her seat as Gretchen approached them her gaze on Lucas. He had gotten up from his chair with Callie and reacted to Gretchen's hard look by wrapping his arms completely around Callie's leg making it a little awkward for her to move. Callie reached for his arms, removing them from her legs.

"Sweetie, it's okay, I'm here." She draped an arm around his back, felt him wrap himself around her legs again, although less awkwardly this time, and simply rubbed his back before turning her attention to Gretchen.

"What do you want?"

"He's supposed to be downstairs. Erica will be pissed if he's not there when she's done."

Gretchen stopped right in front of Callie, her stance completely confrontational. Callie looked around. Something had happened. She wasn't sure what, but something had lit a fire under Gretchen.

"Did she bite your head off when you told her whatever you told her? Back off Gretchen. You're scaring him," said Callie. She stepped away from Gretchen and turned wanting to shield Lucas.

She looked at him. Boy he was tired and scared and he was not doing well. "Listen sweetie, I have to talk to Gretchen, but I'll be right here okay."

She felt Gretchen inch closer to her. Seriously what was her problem? Did she not notice there was a child here? Callie didn't mind going up against a bully, but she hated to do it in front of Lucas especially when he was already scared. She turned to face Gretchen again, feeling Lucas's head along her hip, his arm once again wrapping around her legs.

"I don't know what your problem is, but you need to walk away from here now. You do not want to do this with me," she said.

"I'm taking that kid back to his room. He's not yours, so stop acting like it."

Callie was taken back not used to being challenged about Lucas. Everyone in the hospital knew she was like a second mother to him.

"I'm serious," said Callie. "You make one move to touch this kid and you will hit the ground hard."

Gretchen was taller than her and Callie was seriously not looking to tangle with this woman right now, but she was not backing down either and crazy as it was, neither was Gretchen. Neither woman noticed Meredith Grey making her way to OR3, who passed quickly through the area barely glancing their way.

"Mommy," said Lucas in a shaky voice. "Let's go, let's go back to the room."

Callie looked down at him cupping his face with her hand. "It's okay sweetie. Gretchen was just leaving. We'll go down to the room to pick up Allie after she's gone."

"I already told you, you're not taking him anywhere."

Callie was about to respond when Gretchen reached for him.

She didn't have time to think, she just reacted moving Lucas behind her and getting in Gretchen's face.

"You will not touch him," said Callie.

Callie wanted to look around, but she couldn't afford to take her eyes off Gretchen. People mill about this hospital day and night and yet not a soul was near them tonight. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew there was something seriously wrong with Gretchen. This was not normal behavior. This was obsessive psychotic behavior and there was no way she was letting this woman anywhere near Lucas. But Gretchen was not so far gone that she couldn't calculate and she appeared to be doing that now, looking Callie up and down, walking around her. Callie moved with her turning as Gretchen walked, one hand holding the small arm wrapped around her leg, coaxing Lucas to move along with her, so that she was always in front of him.

Gretchen finally made her move, trying to reach around Callie, but Callie managed to block her again. She could hear Lucas crying.

"Gretchen, you're acting crazy. Just go and sleep it off in an on-call room. Don't worry about Erica. She'll be fine with me having Lucas."

"No, he's not your kid. Who do you think you are anyway?"

"I can't let you hurt this little boy."

Gretchen started moving again, once again circling Callie and Lucas.

"He's not the one I'm going to hurt," said Gretchen with a weird smile.

This is insane, thought Callie. She wanted to send Lucas away tell him to run, so she could deal with Gretchen, but there was nowhere for him to run to. The hospital halls were mostly dark in this section where patients were sleeping and visiting hours were long over. But she was going to have to do something because Gretchen was getting ready to attack.

Callie started backing away hoping to reach the hall before Gretchen launched herself. She knew Erica was down that hall in surgery. The lounges were down there too. She was going to have to send Lucas down that hall and hoped he either ran into a resident who knew him or find a place to hide.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Gretchen following her, but so far not getting between Callie and the hall.

Callie was taking a chance, but she had to talk to Lucas. She turned around feeling a tingling sensation in her back, knowing she had just exposed herself to Gretchen.

"Lucas, listen to me. I need you to go find help. I need you to be brave and run down that hall until you find a doctor."

He shook his head, his eyes full of tears. "I need you to be brave," she said cupping his chin.

She felt the rush of air just before the blow. She didn't know what Gretchen had hit her with, but it was heavy. She almost toppled on top of Lucas. "Go," she managed to get out. He took off running.

* * *

Meredith was preparing to walk into OR3. She was trying to do it fast scrubbing her hands and forearms quickly, hoping to get in on the surgery before it ended. Today had been such a crazy day, but from her perspective good, which she knew was kind of sick and twisted. Traumas like this meant lots of surgeries and lots of surgeries meant more opportunities for all the residents. She and Christina relished it. She had just finished surgery with Derek who had told her to go home, but she knew Hahn was still going, so she had thanked him politely and then went in search of Hahn's surgery, hoping they still needed help. It had been so easy to get in on surgeries today. It was dead quiet in the hospital, she noted, so different from just a few hours ago when everything seemed to be happening at once. She finished rinsing and heard what sounding like rhythmic tapping just as the water shut off. She tilted her head slightly trying to make out the noise when she heard a thump. She looked towards the sound, and saw the doors to the scrub room explode inward.

"Help!"

She jumped back as she saw a little brown haired boy topple into the room. Her brain was trying to make sense of this scenario. Little boys were not supposed to be here, in this space, at this time of night.

"She's gonna kill Mommy!" he shouted from the floor where he had fallen. He got up quickly and was rushing her before Meredith recognized him. He slammed into her body and grabbed her hand just as her brain registered who he was.

"Lucas?"

"She's... gonna.... kill Mommy!" he was sobbing. "Hurry!" he said as he pulled her hand towards the door.

"What? Who...wait. Calm down Lucas."

He was tugging so hard that his hand slipped from hers and he was sent sprawling on the floor. "COME ON!" he shouted his fist hitting the ground in frustration.

Meredith jumped towards the OR room.

"Dr. Hahn?" she said not even bothering to keep the fear out of her voice.

"What?" said Erica calmly not turning around.

"Lucas is here. He seems upset."

Erica stopped. She looked at Yang. "I got this Erica," said Yang. "We just need to close up here."

"Thank you," she said as she handed her instruments to the nurse and stepped away from the table, stripping off bloody gloves and her gown as she went.

She saw him on the floor in tears. "We gotta go!" he shouted to no one in particular. He was rubbing his eyes. She removed her cap and sat down next to him.

"Lucas, what's going on? What are you doing here?"

His head snapped up to her. "Mom, we gotta go. Dr. Samuels is going to kill Mommy."

He stood and ran to the door. Erica's head was about to explode. There were so many things wrong with the sentence he had just spoken. She got up quickly, stopping his forward motion and laying her hands on his shoulders.

"Lucas you need to tell me what's going on," she said.

"Dr. Samuels was being mean and scary and they were gonna fight and then Mommy told me to run and Dr. Samuels was hitting her with a chair."

He was seven and had a wild imagination, but he was also smart and he wasn't a prankster and so Erica knew that no matter how ludicrous it sounded, he was telling the truth.

"Grey, keep an eye on him. Lucas where are they?"

He pointed down the hall as he shrugged off Meredith's friendly touch on his shoulder. Erica took off at a run and Lucas followed. But Meredith had been expecting it and lunged for him, bringing her thin body closer to his as she held him back.

"Let me go!" he shouted at her.

"I'm keeping an eye on you. They'll be back."

He struggled, but gave up after a minute, spent and exhausted.

* * *

Callie turned around as she scrambled away. She saw Gretchen with a chair from the waiting room standing over her laughing.

"Bitch" said Gretchen as she came after Callie again. "Who do you think you are the wife? You're not. That's not your kid."

Gretchen was completely crazed, but as long as her attention was on Callie, Callie felt like the situation was under control. Lucas was nowhere in sight. Her back was throbbing, but nothing felt broken. She managed to stand. She moved to the side as the chair came flying at her.

_Son of a bitch!_

"Gretchen, stop throwing shit at me!" Her anger was surfacing now. Without Lucas here to worry about it, she could unleash it readily. "And I got news for you, I am the wife, I already know how good Erica's hands are and Lucas is my kid."

Without a chair in Gretchen hands, Callie felt free to charge her.

"I told you if you tried to touch him you would hit the ground."

Gretchen looked around for something else to throw, but the chairs and everything else in the sparse space were out of her reach. Callie was on her before she could think of another plan. Callie grabbed her scrubs and pushed her up against the wall. Gretchen was trying desperately to push her away, but Callie's grip was solid. She kicked out in desperation and managed to connect with Callie's legs hard. Callie winced but kept her hands on Gretchen.

"Enough," Callie shouted, pressing up against her. When she didn't stop struggling, Callie just made a fist, whipped her arm back and let fly.

Gretchen yelled and then stopped thrashing. She reached for her nose and her body went limp. Callie let her go. Gretchen slumped to the ground in shock. The pain in Callie's fist was killing her as was her back and legs. She pushed it to the side and made a dash for the hallway she had sent Lucas down. She spared one last glance at Gretchen before sprinting down the hall.

She saw the inky black outline of a body turning the corner at a run and thought she recognized the hair. She continued to run until she was close enough to see that the hair was blonde and then a voice was calling her name like a desperate plea.

"Callie!"

Callie continued running right into Erica's arms. "I sent Lucas this way, we have to find him," she got out wrapping her arms around Erica, wanting to apologize for losing her son.

"He's with Grey. Are you okay? Where is she?"

"God Erica," she slumped against her. "I think something's wrong with her. She was acting really weird. Wanted me to hand over Lucas. What did you say to her?"

"I fired her. Callie you're bleeding!" said Erica, her hands had reached for Callie's automatically, wanting to be sure all parts of her were okay.

"Yeah, it hurts."

"What the hell happened?"

"My fist met her face."

Erica hugged her hard for a long moment. "We need to take care of your hand, but you should go find Lucas first. He thinks Gretchen was killing you."

"Oh God, poor Lucas. He was so scared." said Callie clutching at Erica. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Gretchen and kick her ass."

She placed her hands on Callie's face and just stared. "I'm sorry, Cal."

"Why are you sorry? She's the freak." Callie smiled and then leaned in and did what she had been wanting to do all day.

Her lips reached Erica's and were consumed in an instant. It had always been like this with them or rather with Erica. Erica had always reacted to her in this way. She was the picture of perfect control, never pushing beyond the carefully guarded but invisible line that only she could see. Even when Callie pushed like she had in the kitchen the morning after she had spent her first night on Erica's couch or even later during the fateful sleepover when Erica had asked that she stop the flirting, Erica remained in control. But when Callie kissed her, the control evaporated and she seemed incapable of holding anything back. Erica seemed to get lost in her, in much the same way Callie herself would get lost just staring at those sexy blue eyes that matched the color of sky on a cloudless day. She indulged in the kissing, opening her mouth wider, deepening it slowly, wrapping her arms around Erica's neck and pulling herself closer. It was intoxicating. In an instant the pain in her hands, back, and legs faded like a whisper lost in the wind. There was just her and Erica's tingly skin.

Vaguely she heard the slapping sound of shoes on cold tile in the background, but Erica's lips were moving against her, so she swatted the sound aside, willing it to disappear and continued concentrating on the kisses.

"Mommy!" she heard and began the process of pulling away, a not so easy task as the kissing felt so damn good and the pain in her body registered the more she pulled away.

She felt Lucas hug her legs just as her and Erica separated. Erica opened her eyes as she pulled back and simply watched her. Callie pulled one arm from Erica's neck and brought it to Lucas hugging him to her, but her eyes never left the ones boring into her. There was a look of unfiltered pure desire and love in those eyes. Callie was taken back and had to look away, the intensity of that gaze too strong for her to take in here at the hospital, with Lucas wrapped around her leg. But she knew from here on out there would be no more arguments about where she was sleeping. They would never spend another night apart willingly. Ever.

They parted reluctantly. Callie bent down to engulf Lucas in a hug.

"You were so brave," she said. His tiny arms had never hugged her so hard. He was still crying, so she lifted him up.

"S-Sorry, he got away from m-me," said Meredith. She stood awkwardly at a loss as to what was required of her. "Patient is out of surgery," she offered weakly as she looked at the three of them feeling like an intruder. Callie was holding Lucas close, his face was buried in her neck, his little arms wrapped tightly around her neck. She was leaning into Erica, who had one arm around Callie's waist, the other was rubbing Lucas's back, unconsciously holding them close to her. "There goes the pool," she said smiling under her breath.

"Yeah," said Callie through a smile. "Christina will be pleased."

_I guess I just came out - kind of._

She looked over at Erica who seemed to have just noticed that Meredith was there and saw confusion in her eyes at the mention of a pool. She seemed to have no time to contemplate it however.

"I have to deal with Gretchen," she said to Callie as she stroked Lucas's hair.

He had stopped crying, but was holding on to Callie pretty tightly.

"Grey, can you take care of Callie's hand?" She turned to Callie. "I don't know how long I'll be and I'd really like to take care of you myself, but I have to deal with Gretchen."

"I can check on Gretchen, Dr. Hahn," said Meredith wanting to be helpful and let them have a moment alone.

"NO," said Erica forcefully. "I'm dealing with her. She's caused enough problems as it is. I'll handle it."

Callie wanted to go home. She wanted to be home with Lucas and Allie and Erica. She hated the thought of going home without Erica tonight, right now, but she knew Erica needed to stay. Had she no obligation as Gretchen's boss to deal with her, Callie knew Erica would have stayed anyway. She knew Erica and she knew Erica was feeling responsible for everything that had happened and that she needed to make it right. She would not let anyone else deal with the Gretchen problem. Callie knew it made sense and it was right, but she still hated it. They couldn't all go home together, so she would have to go with the next best thing. She needed to get the kids home.

"I'm going to take them home," said Callie.

Erica's eyes softened.

"That sounds good. Look I don't want to keep you here any longer than you have to be, Callie, but can you give me the short version of what happened? I'll need to tell the Chief."

"She was acting weird, tried to take Lucas, hit me with a chair, so I punched her."

"She hit you with a chair!"

"Yeah"

"Lucas said she was hitting you with a chair, but I was hoping he was wrong about that."

Erica reached for Lucas. "Sweetie, Callie's hurt so we need you to stand on your own for just a little bit longer, okay?"

He nodded but attached himself to Callie's leg as soon as he was set down and looked up. "Mommy's hurt?"

"I'm okay sweetie. Erica I have to get them home. I'm fine, my hand is fine, just a little bruised. I just really want to be home with them and you, so do what you need to do and come home."

"Why don't we let Christina take care of your hand and I'll go fetch Allie and your car? That way you get home as soon as possible and we get to patch you up," offered Meredith.

"That sounds like a plan. Thank you Grey. Callie? You okay with that?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "Fine"

She turned to Erica. "Be careful. And come home soon. We'll be in the big house."

"Okay," said Erica. She bent down and kissed Lucas lightly. "Everything's fine now, okay? Everyone's okay. You're safe now." She smiled and looked up at Callie briefly. "Mommy's okay too."

He nodded, unconsciously increasing the pressure around Callie's legs.

Erica straightened and turned her attention to Callie. She looked nervously at Meredith for a second before focusing on Callie again. Callie saw the uncertainty there. Erica didn't know how to act or she was trying to figure out how to act in front of Meredith. Callie reached for Erica's waist, using Erica's scrub shirt as a hand hold and pulled hard until she felt their bodies connect.

She reached up to wrap her arms around Erica's neck, saw Erica give Meredith another nervous glance and decided Meredith was getting way too much attention. She pulled them closer and placed her lips near Erica's ears.

"Mommy needs to say goodbye, but she'd like to remind you that there will be three very anxious people waiting for you, so kiss me already so you can go do what you need to do and then come home to us, okay?"

Erica opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Callie smiled.

"Erica? The kissing?"

Finally Erica leaned in to her, her intent clear. She didn't look at Meredith or down the hall where the Gretchen problem was waiting for her. She just smiled and engulfed Callie's lips in a kiss. It was soft and sweet, and so very annoyingly swift that Callie almost frowned.

Meredith giggled. Erica rolled her eyes at Callie, gave Lucas one final pat on the head and began walking away and down the hall.

Callie watched her go for a few seconds before turning to Meredith.

"Okay, let's make this quick. I really need to go home."

* * *

Erica made her way down the hall slowly. She hoped Gretchen was still wherever Callie had left her. She did not want to be participating in a search for her tonight. She was going over the events of the last few hours, trying to remind herself that she was a professional and wondering how the hell she was going to prevent herself from kicking Gretchen when she saw her.

She found Gretchen on the floor slumped against a wall, clutching a bloody nose. The hall she was in was dimly lit. Erica walked up to her silently. Gretchen did not look up.

"Get up," said Erica sharply.

Gretchen did not move. She sat still, clutching her bloody nose and said nothing.

Erica nudged her with her foot roughly. "Get up or so help me God, I will kick you so hard you'll forget all about your bloody nose."

Gretchen finally made a move. She put one hand on the floor, the other was still holding her nose and tried to stand, but she was unbalanced and unsteady. Her feeble attempt had her slumping to the floor again.

Erica crouched in front of her. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

Gretchen nodded.

"Good," said Erica. "Now get your ass up."

After a few more attempts, Gretchen was standing.

"Follow me," said Erica as she started walking.

They walked all the way down to the ER. Erica took the long way, which included a long trek in the stairway. She instructed Gretchen to sit.

"I'm going to clean you up and set your nose, but I'm not as good as Callie is at setting bones, so I guarantee you it's going to hurt."

She gathered the things she would need and turned back to Gretchen. "I want you to remember the pain, Samuels. I want it to register deep inside of you because if you ever go near my family again, you'll feel worse pain. You won't be able to rate the pain you'll feel. I will cut your hands off without blinking."

She let Gretchen stew on that for a bit. "Do we understand each other?"

Gretchen nodded.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 25 – No teaser just tying some things up.


	25. Chapter 25

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 25)  
**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:**** A bit of fluff before we end this thing…**

* * *

Chapter 25

It was almost morning by the time Erica pulled into her driveway. She was exhausted and extremely unhappy that there were loose ends to tie up yet. Surprisingly, Webber had not berated her about bringing such a problem child into his hospital and his program. Instead his anger had been directed at Presbyterian. Apparently he had been hearing rumors that they had been more than happy to see Gretchen finish out her residency with Seattle Grace, which had him thinking they knew about her little problem with drugs.

They were meeting with Presbyterian tomorrow to explain what had happened. Presbyterian would want to hear her recommendation, Webber had informed her, and so she had to think about what she wanted to say. She knew drug abuse was not that uncommon among physicians and residents. It wasn't surprising, high stress jobs pushed people beyond their limitations and it was very tempting to use drugs or alcohol to cope with the stress and pressure. Gretchen was a skilled surgeon, but if she put her patients at risk by taking dangerous substances, she was not a good physician period. She would recommend that they kick her out of the program. The lawyer had told her they probably wouldn't, but she would say it anyway. Someone had to. She turned onto her street and started switching gears. She didn't want to think about Gretchen anymore. Gretchen was not going to invade her home again.

She saw Callie's car parked in her driveway and smiled. There was something about knowing that Callie was here that just lit her up from the inside. She parked and made her way to the house. It was 3am and everything was still dark. She saw jackets thrown haphazardly on the couch and added hers to the pile before proceeding upstairs. She checked Allie's room first and found the bed empty. She frowned and then went to Lucas's room. Empty. Trying to quell the panic welling up inside, she made her way to her own bedroom and opened the door. It was dark, but after a few seconds she could just make out the outline of Callie's body surrounded by two smaller lumps. She breathed deeply trying to get as much air into her lungs as possible and willing her heart to slow down the pace at which it was pumping blood into her body from the panic she had started feeling.

Once her breathing had returned to normal, she shook her head at the scene in front of her and then headed quickly for her bathroom not wanting any of the bed's inhabitants to wake to some faceless shadow standing over them. They had been through enough tonight. She closed the door before turning on the light and went through her nighttime rituals all the while thinking about the three people in her bed, and wondering where the hell she was supposed to sleep.

She ended up on the couch. It was too dark and she had no coordination left to search out pajamas or try to find a place on the bed without waking everyone, so she made her way downstairs reluctantly. She picked up the blankets Callie had always used for her morning naps and laid on the couch.

She was nudged awake an hour later by a persistent whispering in her ear.

"Erica"

She opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them before she could make out Callie wearing one of her pajama tops.

"Callie? Everything okay?" she asked.

Callie was kneeling in front of the couch, one hand on Erica's stomach, the other near Erica's head twirling her blonde hair.

"No, everything is not okay. We are upstairs and you are down here. Not okay." She smiled. "What are you doing down here?"

Erica sat up taking Callie's hand with her and pulling her onto the couch. "I didn't want to wake any of you. And there was no room up there for me."

Callie made herself comfortable on the couch, tucking her legs under her and laying her head on Erica's chest. She sighed happily as Erica's arm settled around her back, rubbing lightly.

"Of course there's room. You have a king sized bed, Erica."

"I didn't want to scare anyone. It's been quite the night."

"Yeah, Lucas was pretty freaked out. He didn't really want to sleep on his own."

"I can certainly understand that," said Erica yawning. "How are you feeling? How's the hand?" she asked picking up the hand in question and examining it.

"Hurts a little, some soreness, but generally okay, so what happened with Gretchen?" asked Callie.

"Methamphetamines. We found the pills in her locker. The Chief had to rouse one of our lawyers out of bed. Those guys do not operate as well as we do in the middle of the night and they absolutely do not want to answer direct questions without research. They would never survive as doctors."

Callie smiled. "That's probably why they're not doctors, honey."

"Anyway, there is some good news. Gretchen is apparently Presbyterian's problem."

Callie pulled Erica's blanket to her and draped it across them as best she could without moving from her comfortable spot. "Really?" she said surprised.

"She's done the bulk of her work with them. Her credentials would have come from there anyway. She was finishing out her residency with us, but regardless of the time she spent at Seattle Grace, Presbyterian is the program responsible for her, so according to the lawyer, she's their problem. We can send her back anytime. It was part of the terms of the original deal."

"Well, that's good for us. So what will Presbyterian do?"

"I don't know. The lawyer says they'll probably send her to rehab."

"Are you freaking kidding me? She still gets to practice?"

Erica nodded. She kissed Callie's head. "Probably. They've invested too much money training her, so…"

"Ridiculous. So she does a few months in rehab and they let her handle patients? They let her prescribe drugs?"

"The lawyer said you could press charges individually, for the assault. Actually they were telling the Chief to offer you whatever you wanted so you wouldn't sue the hospital."

Callie laughed. "Webber already offered me a job."

Erica tried to remain calm. "Really? What did you say? Did you…Do you want to stay at Seattle Grace?"

"Of course. I accepted on the spot. Don't get silly honey."

Erica smiled and then wrapped her arms around Callie hard. She let go after a few minutes. "It's what you want, right? I don't want you to accept if it's not what you want Callie."

"Yes, it's what I want. I'm happy here. At the hospital, with you, in Seattle, this is a very good thing."

Erica hugged her again. "I would have moved. If you wanted to, we could move."

Callie patted the chest she was resting on. "I'm happy here. Well, actually I'd be more comfortable upstairs. Come on, let's snuggle upstairs," she said putting a hand on Erica's knee to brace herself as she tried to get up.

Erica held her tight. "I don't want to lie down in the bed in my street clothes and I don't want to go looking around for pajamas. I'll be fine here. Although I wouldn't mind if you hung out for awhile."

"Erica I left a pair of boxers and one of those sexy sleeveless tanks you like in the bathroom for you."

Erica frowned. "You did? Thanks. I'm sorry I didn't notice them before."

"You're exhausted. Come on get upstairs, change and get in bed with us."

Having run out of excuses, Erica stood up with Callie and made her way upstairs.

The kids made no sound as Callie moved them toward the right side of the bed next to each other. She settled herself on the left and waited for Erica to join her. This would be the third time her and Erica had slept in the same bed and only slept. That had to change. She saw Erica's shadow making its way to her hesitantly.

"Callie?"

"Come here honey, the kids are on the other side of me."

Erica slipped into bed next to Callie facing her.

"Thanks for coming to get me," she said as she reached up to caress Callie's cheek.

"This is where you belong, with me and them," said Callie reaching out with her own hand and finding Erica's face.

She followed that up with her lips and kissed her softly. Erica returned the kiss eagerly. Callie had only wanted to kiss her goodnight, to assure herself that the things that had said to each other yesterday were still a reality, that they were here as more than just friends. It was silly for her to still have doubts, but some things would take time. She forgot the hair trigger Erica seemed to be on when it came to their kissing, but she remembered now. Erica's lips and tongue were kissing her deeply. Their bodies had gravitated towards each other, bare legs tangling under the covers. Their breathing was getting more and more rapid. She wanted to pull back, knew they had to, but God this woman could kiss. It was Erica that finally pulled back.

"I'm sorry," said Erica through ragged breaths. "Didn't mean for that to happen."

Callie kissed her forehead. "I love that you get like that, makes me feel like the sexiest thing in the world."

"You are the sexiest thing in the world."

"Now you're just asking to get kissed again, but…it's probably not a good idea right now."

"Bad idea," said Erica. "Okay sleeping now," she said as she turned over on her back.

Callie snuggled up to her, laying her head on Erica's chest and starting a gentle rubbing of her stomach. Erica let that go on for a minute.

"Callie?"

Callie was getting sleepy again, but heard her name being called. "Yeah?" she said softly.

"The whole rubbing thing, bad idea too," said Erica putting a hand over Callie's and halting her motions.

Callie chuckled. "Goodnight honey," she said.

"Night," answered Erica waiting for sleep to claim her.

Erica thought about what lay ahead. She needed to deal with the Gretchen thing again tomorrow but the liability to the hospital was minimal. She was happy to be packing Gretchen off to someone else. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with Presbyterian, but found that it didn't matter. What mattered to her was right here, in this bed with her. And that was the way it should be.

* * *

It was surreal how similar this was to the night they had first made love. Callie was trying to not think about it, because thinking about it was causing quite a lot of discomfort in places. It was Saturday, just like last time and they had spent an entire day kissing at every opportunity. The thing with Gretchen had settled down. Lucas seemed to have put it out of his head entirely and was back to his bouncy self. Kids were resilient. Of course having his Moms for two whole days had probably helped take the edge off that night. Callie had taken the next day off, wanting to give her hand some time to heal. It wasn't broken just sore. The human head is not really something your fists should meet. Erica had more things to deal with on Friday, but had been home early as she had cancelled her surgeries and Webber had kindly let her take the rest of the day off after they had handed Presbyterian the whole Gretchen mess. As a result they had both been able to pick the kids up from school and had a pretty decent Friday evening.

Friday night of course was torture. Erica's insistence that they work on the emotional parts of their relationship before moving to the physical were driving Callie nuts. Erica had put an abrupt stop to their activities Friday night pulling away from their heated kisses on the couch unceremoniously. She had smiled at Callie, said goodnight, repeated her claim that Callie was dangerous and gone directly to the shower. Callie had showered in the other bathroom and they had settled in for another night of simply lying together. It was hard at first, but exhaustion eventually took over and they slept.

But Callie didn't think she could do a repeat tonight, not when they had spent the day kissing and touching. The only difference from the other Saturday they had spent doing this was that back then they had limited their kisses to the times when they were alone. Things were different now. They hadn't openly made-out in front of the kids today or anything, but light kisses accompanied by very smoking glances, hand holding and other type of touches that developed into deliberate stroking had been going all day in plain sight. The heavy make-out sessions were saved for when the kids were occupied.

They had just put the kids to the bed and were now making their way downstairs. Callie was feeling the familiar pounding in her heart that was sending way too much blood to other places that were throbbing. She didn't know how much more waiting she was going to be able to do. She followed Erica into the living room and watched her turn around.

"So, what do you want to do now?" asked Erica standing in the middle of the living room.

Callie looked at her and began laughing. "You know what I want to do, so stop teasing."

Erica looked away momentarily. "Well why don't we just sit?" she asked, hands in her pockets, eyes pleading.

Callie didn't think that was safe, but she was pretty convinced that anything they did right now would not be safe, so she sat.

"Okay, now what?" she asked looking at Erica still standing.

"I guess I could sit too," said Erica slowly.

"Okay, so sit," said Callie patting the seat next to her. She was sitting sideways, her arm draped causally on the back of the couch.

Erica took a deep breath, removed her hands from her pockets and sat in the cocoon created by Callie's body, both hands rubbing her thighs nervously. "Right, sitting is good."

Callie smiled. "Sitting is great," she said letting her hand play with Erica's hair.

Erica turned her head so they were face to face. She swallowed. "This isn't going to work is it?" she asked.

"What?" asked Callie subtly moving her body closer so that it was grazing Erica's shoulder.

Erica closed her eyes. "Waiting."

Callie wanted to lean in and just capture the lips in front of her, but that would ruin everything. This needed to be Erica's decision. Erica knew what Callie wanted, knew that Callie had no problem not waiting. It was Erica who had wanted to reconnect emotionally before they initiated a physical relationship. Callie already felt connected to this woman in every way, had no need to re-connect with someone she had never felt unconnected to, but it seemed important to Erica to get it right this time, to not just give in to their base desires, so she didn't push. She just waited.

"I'll wait however long you want, but if you're asking me if it's hard, yes waiting is hard." She took a very deep breath and smiled at Erica. "You are incredibly sexy and a fantastic kisser, so yeah, it is very hard to wait," said Callie knowing that talking about it was not making things easier.

Erica opened her eyes. She moved her left hand from her thigh and let it settle on Callie's leg stroking it lightly through Callie's plants.

_Yeah, that wasn't helping matters either. _

Callie briefly considered stopping her, intertwining her hand with Erica's had to be less stimulating than what Erica was doing, but Erica was moving closer to her and she had more pressing things to deal with, like the beautiful lips that were inches from hers.

She let Erica set the pace. The kiss was slow, so torturously slow that Callie was whimpering by the end of it. They pulled apart unhurriedly, breathing hard. Callie's hand had come to rest on Erica's stomach. Erica's hand had made its way pretty far up Callie's thigh.

"Not...working," Erica whispered as she went in for another kiss.

This one was more insistent and Callie went with it, opening her mouth wider and matching Erica's intensity. The hand on Erica's stomach wanted to make its way further up the body it was resting on, but Callie kept it stationary just stroking Erica's skin through her shirt. She felt Erica's hand reach for her face, pulling her even closer.

_I am not going to survive this. _

The thought had barely materialized in her head, when she felt Erica's hand snake around her back and waist and pull her around so she had no choice but to straddle Erica.

_Sweet Jesus! _

"You shouldn't have done that…" said Callie.

She tangled both hands in Erica's blond hair, her hips surging forward as she felt Erica's hands on her skin underneath the shirt she wore. She forced herself to pull away, a task made almost impossible by Erica's refusal to detach herself from Callie's lips. She finally managed it and spoke again.

"If you want to wait Erica…we need to stop. Waiting is hard, but this....is impossible."

Erica's lips were on her neck, making their way down Callie's body as hands made their way up her back.

"I've decided…waiting is…overrated," said Erica in between kisses. "I don't want to wait anymore. I want you."

Suddenly Callie's world spun and she was lying on the couch on her back. Erica's mouth found her lips and Callie thought she was going to die from the sheer pleasure of feeling Erica on top of her. Erica slowed the kisses, pulling herself away for a moment, taking in lung-fulls of air as she stared at Callie.

"You are amazing," she said right before her head descended once more and Callie felt warm lips on her neck making their way down her body.

"Honey, I love what we did on the couch last time, but I'd really like you to…" Erica didn't let her finish, her lips once again on Callie. She pulled away after a few moments.

"I know…"

She removed herself from on top of Callie, pulling her into a sitting position.

"I really want you take my…" started Callie.

Erica didn't wait for her to finish before grabbing Callie's shirt and pulling it right over her head.

"Shirt off," finished a now shirtless Callie. "You were always ahead of everyone in school weren't you?"

Erica smiled. "Always," she said and kissed her again.

Callie was caught between wanting Erica to take her back upstairs- _Why did we come down here anyway?_ -and wanting Erica to continue what she was doing right where they were. Finally they came up for air again.

"I've wanted to take your shirt off for a really long time," said Erica.

Callie smiled and wrapped her arms around Erica's neck. She was practically in Erica's lap. "I want you to take all my clothes off and then I want to take all of your clothes off. We can't do that here, so you really need to take me upstairs."

Erica kissed her again and then abruptly detached herself and got up, pulling Callie to stand with her.

"Why did we even come down here?' asked Erica as she walked backwards to the stairs pulling Callie with her and somehow managing not to kill herself.

It took them longer than normal to reach the bedroom since they weren't able to stop kissing for more than a few seconds. That and the heated make-out session at the top of the stairs that Erica had initiated had delayed the bedroom and the nakedness. Callie's bra had almost come off during that session before they both realized that as hot as it was making out in the hall with Callie's back plastered to the wall, there was privacy and a big bed just a few feet away.

But no matter how slow their trek, they eventually made it there. The time for waiting was over; the time to move forward in every way was here.

* * *

Concluded in Chapter 26 – the happily ever after part.


	26. Chapter 26

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 26)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**  
**RATING:** PG-13  
**PAIRING:** Callie/Erica  
**SUMMARY:** AU story set in Seattle Grace but with some changes. This is just a simple love story of two women finding love in a place they never expected.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** The happily ever after…

* * *

Chapter 26

Hours of nakedness later, Callie's head was resting on Erica's chest fighting sleepiness. She was tired, but not ready to sleep. She didn't want to spend any part of tonight sleeping. She was trying to keep herself awake by writing her entire name, the long version, on Erica's stomach with just her fingers.

"What are you writing?" asked Erica in a sleepy voice.

"How do you know I'm writing anything?"

"Well I didn't at first, but I recognize an I and a G. That's an E and an N. Are you writing in code?"

Callie laughed. "Yeah code for world's worst name ever. It's my middle name."

"Okay, let me try and figure it out. Can you start from the beginning?"

"No, that would be too easy."

"Okay I think you finished with an I and an A, so we have I G E N I A."

Callie raised her head, propping it on a bent arm watching Erica puzzle it out. Erica was frowning, her eyes closed.

"Iphigenia?" she asked unsure.

"How the hell did you get that? There is no way you knew I was writing when I did the I, P, H."

Erica was smirking. "Calliope, you have a very long name. I figured out you were writing before you were done with your first name.

"So totally not fair."

"It's a beautiful name."

"It is not."

"Beautiful," said Erica sitting up and going for Callie's lips.

Callie was lost instantly. Erica laid back down with Callie's lips still attached to her. The kisses were just moving into the wet and steamy stage when a pager went off.

"No, no, no, no. This is not happening. I get the whole night. We deserve the whole night."

Erica smiled. "They'll be other nights, sweetie."

She reached for the pagers that had been placed on the nightstand. "It's yours," she said to Callie handing it to her.

"You would swear that this hospital had no other orthopedic surgeons on staff."

"No good ones," said Erica smiling. "Do you need the phone?" she asked.

"It's Bailey," said Callie as she fell back on the bed hard. "I really hate this. I don't want to go."

Erica rubbed her stomach. "Go, be quick and come back so you can climb back into bed with me."

"It better be quick," said Callie finally getting up.

Ten minutes later she was dressed and ready to go. Erica had been watching her get dressed, a sleepy smile on her face.

"Come say goodbye to me?" pleaded Callie resisting the urge to climb on top of Erica to say goodnight.

"Okay," said Erica as she rose and reached for some clothes.

They made their way downstairs hand in hand. Suddenly it was all so surreally familiar again. They were standing at the front door. Erica's hands were on Callie's face, holding her with a gentleness that made Callie feel precious. The kiss was slow and soft and the whispered I love you that followed was the confirmation of a declaration made weeks ago.

"I love you too," said Callie. She chuckled. "We've done this before."

Erica frowned. "We have?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? Our first time, was just like this." She moved closer wrapping her arms around Erica's neck. "A day spent getting ourselves all worked up with the kissing and touching, making love, saying I love you. Well except that we got naked and had way more time this time and I get to say I love you back."

Erica looked perplexed. "I hadn't realized," she said.

"It's probably a stupid thing to notice," said Callie giving her one last peck. "Be back soon sexy," she said as she opened the door and walked to her car.

Erica watched her drive away before closing the door. She leaned against it, arms crossed. She hadn't noticed it before, but Callie was right, it was just like last time. She felt the panic building as she remembered the morning after the last time. Callie walking in, taking Allie and running away from her, running to Mark Sloan.

_This isn't like last time. Things are different now. She loves me. She told me she loves me. _

She got her breathing under control and went back upstairs, but the panic re-emerged as soon as her head hit the pillow, the scent of their love-making still lingering in the air. She got up and dressed again, intent on making herself more tired than she already was. Those books in her study could stand to be reorganized. She would start there.

Hours later she had put the last of the books back. She glanced at the clock. She had no idea when Callie would be back or what to expect when she did come back. She was being neurotic. She knew that, but she couldn't seem to help it. This thing with Callie was too insanely good to be true. The things Callie made her feel, made her think about were insane. Things like forever and soul mates, things she had spent her life scoffing at. It was too good.

She made her way to the living room and sat. She knew things were different now, she and Callie were different, but she sat in nervous contemplation all the same, waiting for Callie to return, bracing herself for another rejection. Any number of things could send Callie running again. Better to know now she told herself and sat and waited. Fighting sleep and fatigue, she sat in the dimly lit room, imagining the worse things possible, and hoping they would stay in the realm of nightmares.

* * *

It was four in the morning. It was four in the morning and Erica was listening intently. She heard a car coming down her street, she heard it slow down in front of her house. And then she heard it no more. She had turned her head at the sound, turned to the door and front window looking for lights to illuminate the space, lights that would tell her that the sound she heard was Callie's car, but they never came. She got up slowly, placed shaking hands in her pockets and moved to the front door. There was no rush, no excitement in her movements. She looked out the small window, peering out into the night. Everything was black. Suddenly she saw illumination where she thought there ought to be none.

Callie's living room was ablaze. She looked closer concern about intruders warring with a sinking sensation that seemed to be dragging her insides to her toes. She looked towards Callie's driveway and made out her car. There were no intruders. Callie had gone home. Callie had not come back to her. She stepped back from the window and leaned against the door resisting the urge to bang her head hard for letting this happen to her again.

She closed her eyes tightly concentrating on her body, the sinking sensation that wanted to drag her to the floor, her throbbing head, the pain in her balled up hands, nails piercing flesh dangerously, the erratic heart pounding in her chest. She started with her heart.

"You will beat normally. You will beat normally. You will beat normally," she repeated out loud over and over until she no longer felt that harsh thump directly on her sternum.

She closed her eyes tighter and moved to the throbbing in her head, visualizing the dilated blood vessels, but before she could start willing that pain away, she heard keys on the other side of the door.

She lifted her body and stepped away, hands still balled into fists deep in her pockets. She stood there braced for rejection, but the door did not open immediately. She waited a few more seconds and finally it swung open wildly and there was Callie, a gym bag slung over her shoulder and carrying two bags of…groceries?

Erica was dumbfounded. This did not compute. Callie struggled with the bags and the door for a few more seconds before Erica leapt into action, taking one of the toppling bags from Callie's hands.

"Thanks, but what are you doing up? You should be sleeping. You should be sleeping upstairs. Naked."

Erica was still confused. _Callie_ _had come back to her?_ She looked at the brown bag in her hand and then back at Callie who was closing and locking the door behind her.

"You came back," she whispered still not sure of what was happening. _Callie was here with her?_ She had so thoroughly convinced herself that she had lost her again and yet Callie was here.

"Yeah, it was quick, surgery not required. Come on, let's drop these off in the kitchen and crawl back into bed. We can still get in a few hours of sleep," said Callie as she dropped the gym bag at the foot of the stairs before walking toward the kitchen.

Erica followed. She set the bag she was carrying on the island and then like she was in some dream, Callie was there with her, wrapping arms around her neck.

"Hey, I missed you," said Callie before her lips brushed against Erica's, hands reaching for Erica's hair.

In an instant, Erica's world was whole and bright and sane again. She deepened the kiss wanting to get impossibly closer. She pulled away for a moment before engulfing Callie in a full body crushing hug.

"I guess you missed me too."

Erica pulled back feeling embarrassed by her earlier thoughts. "Yes, I did. Sorry for the…clinginess. I was having…very stupid thoughts earlier."

"Well no more stupid thoughts. I stopped at the grocery store to get tomorrow's breakfast. I was thinking cinnamon pancakes," said Callie as she began looking through the brown paper bags for anything perishable. She placed a few items into the refrigerator and turned to Erica.

"The rest of this stuff can wait. I also had to stop at the house to get some clothes. I've been here three days; I think I've exhausted my supply of clothes."

Erica smiled. "Then you need to bring more stuff over," she said, feeling all traces of the fear that had gripped her for the last few hours fading rapidly.

Callie smiled widely at her, laughing lightly. "Yeah, well I got some stuff in the gym bag by the stairs."

"Good, come on, the bed awaits," said Erica suddenly feeling incredibly tired. She grabbed Callie's hand and led her out of the kitchen.

"Wait, what were the stupid thoughts?" asked Callie as they reached the foot of the stairs.

Erica picked up the gym bag. "They were stupid insecure thoughts and I'll tell you about them tomorrow. Right now, I need you in my bed."

"I like the sound of that," said Callie gladly making her way up the stairs.

* * *

_One Month later…_

One advantage to "skipping the romance" was that by the time the romance caught up with everything else, it's easy to slide into the new life you'd been building, even if you had no consciousness awareness that that was what you had been doing. So when Callie Torres realized she hadn't been to her house in weeks except for mail runs and to get a few changes of clothes, she really wasn't surprised. She and Erica had established a routine long before kisses in parking lots and gay panic and making up and drug-crazed residents. In fact, not having to be at her house made everything easier. It was easier to not have to think about her house to not visit it.

Unfortunately, she had a house and as much as she wanted to not think about it, it was there. As much as she loved what they were doing, her and Allie staying at Erica's, a place that was fast becoming home, it really couldn't continue without them addressing some things. Too many things had been left unsaid for so long in their relationship with some pretty disastrous results that she couldn't do that again. She could not let things go unsaid hoping they would resolve themselves. She had to do something about her house and that meant another shift in their relationship that she wasn't sure Erica was ready for. She was, but Erica had wanted to take everything so slow this time.

That was the one thing they still disagreed vehemently about: whether or not there had been a break-up. Callie hadn't really viewed it as a break-up, more like a breakdown of the things they had been building. For Erica they had broken up and so their coming together was a reconciliation and not merely making-up. It seemed so insignificant, that distinction at first, until Callie had realized what that meant. It meant not picking up where they left off, but starting over. That was the point of Erica asking her out the night they had finally put Mark and gay panic behind them. Callie had not really understood it that way. She just thought it was romantic as hell for Erica to let her know she wanted to be with her by asking her out. They hadn't actually gone on a real date yet, but they had slowly built up the trust so essential and so much a part of who they had always been with each other.

For Erica the starting over was rebuilding everything and for the most part that was fine with Callie. She just wanted to be with Erica, whether Erica called it reconciliation or making-up didn't matter. That is until she realized that Erica was putting a hold on certain intimate activities. That had just been torturous and wrong, hence the vehement disagreements. Eventually they wove their lives back together and more importantly they'd had sex again, which had been hot and wonderful. And thinking about it still made Callie all tingly.

Really she shouldn't complain. It was not like Erica made her wait forever. They had barely made it a few days before Erica just gave up on the whole waiting thing. Callie guessed it had been easy at first with the craziness that was work and the whole Gretchen affair. They had been busy and exhausted, but when the dust settled from that, it really became impossible, especially since Erica just went into overdrive every time she kissed Callie, which Callie really, really, really encouraged.

But thinking that she had to do something about her house was as far as her thinking had gotten – recognize the issue. She didn't know what to do beyond that. She wasn't about to start sleeping apart from Erica and it didn't make sense for all of them to transplant themselves to her house so that she didn't feel guilty about the empty house sitting across the street. Lucas really didn't have a room there and most of Allie's things were already at Erica's. She was at a loss as to how to approach the problem.

Well there was the obvious solution – sell her house – but that introduced a new set of complications she didn't think Erica was ready to face. It was great living at Erica's, but selling her house meant thinking about finances and commingling their assets and debts and that was just messy. They hadn't talked about living together, they were just doing it, but she knew the situation couldn't persist like that. They had to talk about it. They had kids to think about and responsibilities and wasn't it all too soon? Should she really be thinking about making Erica Allie's legal guardian? Probably not, but she was.

These were the thoughts going through her head as she sat in her living room, a few days accumulation of mail sorted out in piles on the coffee table. She looked around at the dust collecting on the unused dining room table. The house was cold. She had turned down the heat weeks ago seeing no point in heating an empty house. The kids and Erica were across the street starting on the Chinese take-out they had brought home for dinner. Nell was getting married, so they'd had to find a new sitter. Nell gave them the name of her cousin who turned out to be more reliable than Nell and somehow it had made sense that Jessica watch the kids at Erica's, so the kids didn't even spend their afternoons here anymore.

She looked around noting for the first time how truly empty the place looked. Unread magazines were stacked neatly on the coffee table, a toy stethoscope lay next to the table Allie and Lucas used to draw and color. The crayons, paper, and colored pencils usually strewn across the table had been transplanted to Erica's, so the table lay bare with its own collection of dust. The stray toys and books that could always be found in various places around her house were gone. She got up and walked to the closet opening the door. It was empty. Hats, gloves, winter jackets and sweaters were all at Erica's. The only thing in the closet was a box of jackets Allie had outgrown that Callie had intended to donate. She laughed. Why was she obsessing about this when they had already practically moved in to Erica's? Because it was more complicated than moving jackets, she answered herself. She sighed.

She made her way to the kitchen, arms crossed in front of her to ward off the cold. Everything was neat and in its place. Some spaces were empty though. The mixer was at Erica's. She had needed it for Lucas's birthday cake. Other things from this kitchen had made its way over to Erica's in a similar fashion. The cupboards were bare. She had not brought food into this house in about a month. There was no milk or perishables in her refrigerator.

She leaned against the refrigerator and looked around once more. Even some of her favorite pots had found a new home across the street. She blew air into her hands. Despite her heavy jacket, she was starting to feel the cold. She walked back to the living room, grabbed the piles of mail and stepped outside.

She made sure to lock the house with the deadbolt and turned around to make her way across the street when she saw her. Erica was in her jacket leaning against her SUV looking at her.

_What the hell was she doing out here in the cold?_

She made her way across the street quickly and spoke the words in her head.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?"

"Waiting for you," Erica answered easily, but made no move to step away from her car. "You were in there a long time," she commented searching Callie's face.

Callie settled herself next to Erica, putting her weight on the car and its bumper. She crossed her own arms after setting aside her stack of mail.

"I haven't been there in awhile," she said.

"I know," said Erica not looking at her. They let the silence settle around them for a few seconds. Erica turned to look at her. "Does that bother you?" she asked.

Apparently Callie wasn't the only one contemplating the house problem.

"Yes and no," she said honestly, her gaze fixed on the house across the street.

"I love having you and Allie here," said Erica.

"We love being here," answered Callie.

"There's a 'but' coming isn't there?"

Callie let out a breath. "I don't know if it's a 'but' exactly. It's more I don't know what to do."

Erica looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Callie didn't answer for a long while. She didn't know what to say. Finally she spoke.

"I love you."

"I love you too," said Erica pushing away from the car and turning to face Callie.

She pulled her into an embrace and kissed her head. "Come on, let's get out of this cold. Besides, I started the kids on dumplings. They were going to try and eat them with chopsticks so there's no telling what the place looks like now."

Callie nodded but burrowed herself more closely in Erica's arms. "I want to talk about this, I just don't know what to say yet."

"Okay. We'll talk later."

* * *

It turned out to be much, much later as they lay naked in bed that Callie started the conversation.

"What are we doing?" she asked from her place on Erica's chest.

She was laid out on top of Erica, her arms folded across Erica's chest, her chin resting on her hands. Erica's hands were on her back alternating between sensual, gentle rubbing and kneading of sore muscles.

"You don't know? You did it really well for someone who doesn't know," answered Erica deliberating misunderstanding the question.

"Not that, you goof and we both do that well."

They were both silent trying to read each other's eyes. Finally Callie rolled off of her positioning herself on her side and propping her head up with her hand. Erica mimicked her position and then reached over to kiss her lightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what does all this mean to you, what we're doing?"

"It means everything. You and Lucas and Allie mean everything. If you're asking me what we're doing, I would say we're living a wonderfully beautiful dream."

"Such a closet romantic," Callie smiled.

Erica returned the smile and continued watching her. Callie's face became serious again.

"I want to live with you," her eyes were focused on Erica wanting to see her reaction.

Erica smiled. "I want that too."

"But it's complicated," said Callie intertwining her free hand with Erica's.

"I knew there was a 'but' coming."

Erica tried to smile, but this conversation was making her nervous. She knew that Callie was happy here and she knew that Callie was right. It was complicated. They weren't roommates. They couldn't just split the bills down the middle and call it a day. As easy as it had been for Callie and Allie to carve out space here physically, living together was another matter altogether. She wanted it. God, she wanted them here. So much so that she had started resenting that Callie's house was across the street in plain site. She hated that reminder that Callie had another place that she called home that she could return to.

"No, it's not a 'but' exactly… I want to figure this out with you. I want to live with you, but…. There are things we would need to talk about and I'm not sure… I don't want to push and it might be too soon, so I don't know what to do, because I need to do something about my house, but I know you want slow and this is fast."

Erica cut her off with a kiss, a long deep very wet kiss that had Callie letting go of Erica's hand and pulling her close. She whimpered as Erica pulled away.

"What are you talking about?" asked Erica.

"Erica, we need to have this conversation, but if you keep kissing me like that, we're not going to finish."

Erica merely smirked. "Well you're naked and if you think that's not a distraction you're kidding yourself. Now, what are you talking about?"

Callie lay down on her back and stared at the ceiling. "I called Danielle the other day."

That was a strange change of topic. "Okay"

"I called Danielle because I wanted her to research something for me."

"Well she's a good resource. I'm sure she'll be helpful," said Erica not knowing where this conversation was headed.

Callie turned her head, reaching out her hand to entangle it with Erica's again before bringing it to her lips. "I wanted her to find out what I needed to do to make you Allie's legal guardian."

Callie felt the jolt of shock through Erica's hand, the subtle twitch that signaled utter surprise in the woman lying next to her. Her gaze was focused on Erica's eyes, but she didn't get to see those. Erica closed them as soon as the sentence was out.

Erica squeezed the hand holding hers hard. She hadn't meant to, but the emotions coursing through her were too much. She had closed her eyes as soon as she heard the words, the joy she was feeling in that moment too much for her to take in with her eyes. It was involuntary, an involuntary reaction to utter and complete bliss. She let go of Callie's hand, afraid her hold would get painful for Callie and placed it on Callie's hip forcing her on her side and bringing her forward so that their bodies were touching. She brought her forehead to Callie's and let out a long breath.

"Callie…that's…."

"Complicated, I know," said Callie enjoying the closeness, knowing Erica was happy but still unsure of everything else. Allie's guardianship was just one part of the complication.

"No, that's not…I mean yes it's complicated, but I…" She let out another breath before kissing Callie. "I don't know what to say," she said once she pulled away.

"You don't have to say anything right now. I just… it's not just about living here and after everything we've been through, that I've put you through, I don't blame you for wanting to go slow. But slow is not working for me. I want to live here with you, but… for me that means selling my house and selling my house means talking about money and finances and other things like guardianship and I don't want to overwhelm you with all of that, because I get the going slow. But…I don't want to just live here. I guess, I kind of want to be your wife and Lucas's mom and that is…so not where you're at and I get that, but that's the problem. It is fast even for me, but God…I love you so much and I can't imagine life without you and it just seems so clear, but I know its not for you yet. Am I making any sense?"

Erica was pretty sure her heart was about to explode. There were only so many shocks the organ could endure, but Callie was looking at her with tears in her eyes and she knew she had to respond.

"No," she said. "You're not making any sense at all."

Before Callie could react, she placed a hand on her shoulder, rolled her onto her back and covered Callie's body with hers.

"That is exactly where I'm at. I want you here forever. Why do you think I've started hating your house? I want you to live here as my wife and Lucas's mom. You're already Lucas's mom. I want to be your wife and Allie's second much more fun mom. And yes we need to talk about money and finances and guardianships and I want to, but not right now."

She stopped talking taking in Callie's smile, pressing herself closer to Callie's chest wanting Callie to feel the thumping in her heart.

She lowered her mouth onto Callie's slowly her concentration wavering between lips and eyes. Finally their lips touched in that slow intimate way they had always touched. She felt Callie's mouth open to her and reciprocated. The brushing, grazing, sucking had her head spinning and she almost, almost forgot.

She slowed the kiss, pulling back despite Callie's delicious moans entreating her to continue.

"Right now, I have something for you," she said removing herself from Callie and reaching for something in the drawer of the nightstand

She clutched the item tightly in her hand as she positioned herself on her side.

"I know I said slow, but my heart overrules my head when it comes to you, so I've been walking around with this for a few weeks."

She looked closely at Callie as she opened her hand revealing a tiny black jewelry box. She could see Callie's breathing slow, her eyes dart from Erica to the box. She tried sitting up, but Erica's kiss caught her midrise.

"Stay, please? I want to remember this moment with you exactly like this."

"Okay, but you have to tell me what's in the box," said Callie in a whisper.

"How about I show you?" said Erica opening it. She had wanted to say something before opening the box, had rehearsed romantic speeches of everlasting love and her impossible desire for this, but in the end the words seemed inadequate and she simply opened it, hoping Callie would understand what the rings in the box signified.

"Oh, Erica, they're beautiful," said Callie. Her eyes moved slowly from the rings to Erica.

She brought her hands to the box and removed one of the rings. Hoping she had guessed right, she reached for Erica's left hand and placed the ring on her finger. Erica was having a hard time seeing clearly, but she understood what Callie was doing and reached for the other ring in the box, taking Callie's hand and placing it on her finger, with a gentle kiss to the hand as a final blessing.

"I love you," she said before descending hungrily on those lips again.

It would be another while before they talked about money and finances and guardianships.

* * *

This was the original ending. An epilogue for this little story is banging around inside my head and will be written shortly. I promise to have it by Thanksgiving. It's been a fun journey. To all of you who reviewed – A million times thank you. Your comments mean more than I can say in words. ~ rcruz


	27. Chapter 27

Just a Simple Love Story (Chapter 27)

**rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I was in the middle of the epilogue when I realized it wasn't going to work without this chapter. Sorry, don't mean for this to go on forever. So here's just a little bit more fluff involving the kids and family.

Chapter 27

* * *

"Mommy are we having pumpkin pie? Cause Allie says we never have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving."

"I think Allie might have meant, she's never had pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but yes we're having pumpkin pie."

"Yes!" said Lucas jumping from the chair he had climbed upon entering the room. "See Allie, I told you Mommy was making pumpkin pie."

Callie laughed a little. She had never made pumpkin pie before, but figured it couldn't be that hard. Except that with everything else she was making, she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. It didn't help that Lucas and Allie had been constantly coming into the kitchen to ask a question about their favorite food. Allie wanted to make sure rice was still on the menu; Lucas was obsessed with pumpkin pie asking her how she would make it, how long it would take, did they have whipped cream to go with it, would she be using real pumpkin or canned. She had given him a look at that question which had caused him to giggle. She was probably making entirely too much food, a result of the nervous energy pulsating through her today.

Erica had been paged earlier this morning, but Callie expected her back any minute. That was good because apart from missing her, she was starting to freak out about everything she still had to do and the kids constant interruptions were making her twitchy. She needed Erica. She wiped her hands on her jeans and looked around for the list she had made of all the dishes she was preparing. The list was extensive as it included all the ingredients she needed for each dish along with a timeline of when she should start prepping. She was absorbed in the list, noting that despite the interruptions she was on schedule, when she felt long arms encircle her from behind and warm lips on her neck.

"Hey, sexy, I didn't hear you come in," said Callie melting into the embrace.

"I noticed," said Erica turning her around and kissing her properly. "Hi," she said after a languid kiss.

Callie sighed and just rested in Erica's arms. "Hey, so do I have you here for the rest of the day?"

"Longer than that," said Erica kneading the muscles in Callie's back. "What can I do?" she asked.

"Actually, can you take the kids for a walk or something? They're driving me a little batty. I don't know what's got them so worked up, but they can't seem to sit still today."

"Lucas driving you nuts worrying about his pumpkin pie?" asked Erica.

"No...a little. You never said anything about his obsession with pie before I moved in here."

"And scare you away? Not a chance."

Callie laughed lightly. She sighed again and then squeezed Erica hard.

"Still thinking about your brother?" asked Erica.

"No"

Erica gave her a light squeeze and just waited.

"Okay, maybe a little. I don't want to read anything into it, it's just...he always comes for Thanksgiving and the whole I might not make it this time is just...suspicious. I need him to be okay with this, he seemed okay when I first told him about us."

They stood there holding each other for awhile longer.

"My family, my father especially is not...he is going to be hard, so I need Diego to be okay. I need someone in my family to be okay about this. I can't fight them by myself."

Erica kissed the top of her head. "You're not by yourself and why does it have to be a fight? It will probably be hard for your parents to understand at first, but you have a good family. They'll come around and as for your brother, Callie he's an FBI agent. Their schedule is like ours - sometimes beyond their control."

"He's never told me he might not make it before," said Callie softly.

Erica hugged her harder. "I'm sorry sweetie."

They heard a commotion from the other room. "What was that?" asked Callie not moving from her spot in Erica's arms.

Erica kissed her again before letting go. "Guys? What was that?" she asked.

"My building collapsed," yelled Allie from the other room.

Erica heard rapid footsteps and suddenly they were both there.

"It was cool Mom, it toppled on its side really slow," Lucas was saying demonstrating by creating an arc with his hands.

"And then it just crashed and went kablooy," finished Allie with flair waving her hands in the air. "Pieces went everywhere," she finished proudly.

Callie looked at Erica and rolled her eyes.

"Guys, go pick up the pieces and then put your jackets on. We're going to take a walk to the park."

"But we've been helping Mommy," said Lucas.

"I know, but Mommy needs to concentrate on the pumpkin pie, okay?"

"Can we go down the slide?" asked Allie.

Erica gave Callie one last look as she ushered them out. "It's not raining, so maybe."

Callie heard their little exhalations of glee before turning back to her list, trying to concentrate on food and not on her absent brother.

* * *

She heard the bell shortly after their departure. She had just gotten all the ingredients for the very important pie laid out on the counter and absently went to the door. Maybe Erica had forgotten her keys.

"Hey gorgeous did you forget your..."

"Hey!"

"...keys," finished Callie softly. She was frozen in place staring at the one person she had not expected to see today.

"Sis? You okay?" he asked.

"Diego! Oh my God. You came," she exclaimed coming out of her stupor and engulfing him in a hug.

He lifted her off her feet. "I don't know for how long. I think I got a few days, but if something happens in the case I've been working on, I may have to skedaddle and did you just call me gorgeous?"

She let him go and stepped away from the door. "No, I thought you were someone else."

He smiled as he walked in looking around at her new and somewhat chaotic residence. His sister was a neat freak. Her house did not do chaos. He smiled. She saw him take in the toys scattered around the living room, the books taking up space on the dining room table and knew what was causing the smile.

"I know and I'm trying not to let it drive me nuts. Erica got called into the hospital this morning and I had things to do so I let them create more chaos then I usually do."

"It's good," he said. "I like it."

He took off his jacket and handed it to her, setting his bag in a corner. "So where is everyone? I'm anxious to meet my new nephew."

Callie was hanging up his jacket when she heard him. She turned and smiled, hugging him hard. "Thank you," she said kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for being okay with this."

He frowned. "Why would you think I wasn't?"

"I don't know. You've been coming here for Thanksgiving for five years and all of a sudden I get a message saying you might not come."

"Sis, I'm on a case. That had nothing to do with you. I was bummed that I might not get to come. I needed to come. I need to meet the woman that has you all giddy smiley. I can hear your smile over the phone, yeah just like that" he said watching her face light up again.

"Erica took the kids to the park because they were driving me insane. They seem all hyped up for some reason. They should be back soon. In the meantime, perform sous chef duties for me," she said as she dragged him to the kitchen. "Ever make a pumpkin pie?"

"I can make toast. That's it," he said following her.

* * *

He wasn't much of a sous chef, but he kept her company and suddenly everything seemed more manageable. He was currently mixing the pumpkin pie filling.

"I like pumpkin pie, but I'm not sure I'm that jazzed about how it's made," he frowned.

"Just keep mixing," she said.

"We never have pumpkin pie," he said absently.

"Lucas loves it. He's been bothering me about it all day."

"Ahh. So how's it going, living here, together?"

She smiled. "It's awesome. It's...I can't even describe it."

He laughed. "You can barely talk let alone describe something with that big old grin taking over your face."

She laughed. "Yeah, well it's pretty wonderful."

"I've never seen you so happy," he said wistfully. "I'm glad."

"Me too," she answered. "Now if only Mom and Dad can see that, things would be perfect."

"Dad's gonna freak, but Mom will be fine."

"You think so?" she asked closing the oven that held their turkey.

"Yes, Dad will be the freak and Mom will calm him down and then he'll be fine. It might take awhile, but eventually he'll be fine. After all you're giving him another grandchild to spoil."

"It worries me, not so much their reaction to me and Erica, I mean that worries me too, but Erica and I can handle that. I don't want any negativity when it comes to Lucas though. He's my son just as much as Allie is my daughter. I don't need them treating him differently. I won't tolerate that."

He nodded and got up. "Is this okay?" he asked as he handed her his bowl.

"Yeah," she said and began final preparations for the pie.

"Dad is stubborn, but I don't think it will come to that. Lucas is just a kid. I don't see Dad doing that to a kid."

They heard the door open and before Diego knew it two bundled up forms had raced into the kitchen talking simultaneously.

"Mommy, Mommy, is the pie ready?" asked the little figure in the blue jacket. He wore a hat, but no gloves and was clutching at Callie.

"Almost, baby," said Callie removing his hat and kissing his head.

"I wanna see," said the other small little human adorned in a red jacket, complete with hat and gloves.

"In a second guys," said Callie as she removed Allie's hat and kissed her as well. "Where's your Mom and Lucas what happened to your gloves?"

"Took them off. It was too warm for gloves."

Callie touched his flushed face and shook her head. "Go take your jackets off and then you can see. Oh and say hello to your Uncle Diego," she said with a smile.

Allie shrieked. "Uncle Diego!" She ran to him instantly.

He lifted her up and tossed her in the air. "I thought you were ignoring me," he said as he caught her.

She giggled. "I didn't see you."

He hugged her before setting her down and noticed the brown haired boy in the blue jacket still attached to his sister's legs.

"Are you gonna introduce me to your brother?" Diego asked Allie.

She pulled away from him rapidly and grabbed Lucas's hands.

"This is Lucas," she said dragging him to stand in front of Diego.

Diego bent down in front of Lucas and extended his hand. "Hey Lucas, I'm Diego. I'm Allie's uncle. Since she's your sister," he stopped. "She is your sister right?"

Lucas nodded as he shook Diego's hand.

"Well I guess then I'm your uncle too. You okay with that?"

Lucas looked around and found his Mom standing at the doorway taking in the scene. She gave him an encouraging smile. Allie was nudging him.

"Uncle Diego's cool, he brings presents and everything."

Lucas's eyes widened.

"Yep, I am the bringer of cool presents."

Lucas smiled at him. "I've never had an Uncle."

"I've never had a nephew, so we'll just kind of figure it out together."

Lucas smiled again.

"Alright then, someone said something about presents," said Diego getting up amidst shouts of "Presents, presents" from Allie.

"Guys," said Erica. "Go take off your jackets first."

Erica had barely enough time to move before the two figures were coming at her. She moved inside the room and watched Lucas and Allie race into the other room.

Finally it was just the three adults.

"Hey, I'm the brother, Diego Torres," said Diego extending a hand to Erica.

"Erica Hahn," she said awkwardly.

Callie was still preparing pie and watching the two of them. "She's the wife," she supplied. "Thanks for taking them out sweetie, but I can see it did nothing to deplete their energy."

"Hard to do on a normal day, but they seem to have extra today," answered Erica.

"Come here, sweetie cause I can't come to you," said Callie smiling.

Diego watched Erica move across the room nervously. She stood a little awkwardly next to Callie until Callie wiped her hands. He had an idea of what Callie wanted to do. She finished wiping her hands and turned to Erica one hand reaching for the back of her head and pulling her closer. He could tell Erica was surprised and a little nervous, but she went with the kiss. He looked away momentarily before deciding to act like the little brother that he was.

"Ruining girl-on-girl action for me, sis. Don't need images of my sister macking on a hot woman."

Callie pulled away and looked at him. "Don't watch then."

Erica was standing with Callie still in her arms. "I love you," she whispered in Callie's ear before turning her attention to Diego and letting Callie get back to the pie.

"I guess that ruined my whole, we're just really close friends story," she mocked.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that one anymore," he laughed.

The kids came racing back. "Jackets gone," said Allie. "Presents now."

"Did you lose your ability to speak in complete sentences?" asked Erica lifting her up. Allie bounced in her arms. "Presents, presents, presents," she said with every bounce.

Lucas was bouncing on his feet.

"Go get ready for presents," said Callie. "I have to put the pie in, and then I'll be right out."

* * *

A few minutes later Callie and Erica were sitting on the couch wrapped up in each other with Callie in the crook of Erica's arm. Erica felt Callie relax for the first time since she had received the rather cryptic message from her brother that he might not make Thanksgiving a few days ago. She kissed her lightly as they watched Diego build the momentum by rifling, probably unnecessarily, in his bag while Lucas and Allie stood ready to jump out of their skin.

She had tried not to let on to Callie the worry she had felt at this latest step in their relationship, meeting Callie's extended family. The only family she had left was her mother who had shown no interest in either her or Lucas after the adoption was finalized. She knew exactly what to expect from her mother and she was not subjecting Callie or Allie to that, but Callie's family was different. She had a good relationship with them, but something like this - coming out, deciding to completely change your life, adopt a son, those types of things didn't always go well with one's family and so Erica worried. She worried about their reaction to her, but most of all she worried about Lucas. It would be easy for Callie's family to treat him differently, not like a nephew or grandson. She knew they didn't have to. Technically he was not a blood relation to them and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't make them see Lucas and Allie like she and Callie did.

If Diego was any indication, her fears were unfounded.

"Okay, I have two sets of presents and you have to share them, okay?"

The kids' heads bobbed up and down.

He pulled out two presents, both wrapped. "Remember these are for both of you. Do you want to each open one or do you want to open them together?"

"Together," they shouted still bouncing.

He handed them the first gift which they tore into like wild animals.

Erica turned to Callie. "Did we feed them too much sugar today or something?"

Callie shook her head. "They didn't even have cereal this morning. I made eggs and toast."

"Cool, it's all the Lemony Snickets books!" exclaimed Allie.

"More stuff coming into the house," muttered Callie.

Erica gave her a squeeze as she watched Lucas and Allie converse with each other about the books and whether or not they would be good bedtime books.

Diego watched for a while, before handing over the second present. "Okay one more, but again sharing is essential."

Lucas and Allie set aside the books and tore into the second box. Soon the air was filled with more oohs and ahhs and cools.

"More Legos? Are you freaking kidding me?" Callie muttered and then glared at Diego who was smirking.

"Can we open them now?" asked Lucas.

"Not yet. Dinner's almost ready. Maybe after dinner," said Erica knowing Lego pieces all over the living room might put Callie over the edge.

"Okay one more very special Uncle Diego type present," said Diego.

The kids stood up and resumed the bouncing. He looked in his bag and pulled out two Nerf footballs handing one to each kid.

Allie looked perplexed. Lucas threw his up in the air and tried to catch it, but it bounced off his head. Allie laughed and tried the same thing with the same results which had both kids giggling.

Diego pulled out what looked like two balled up shirts. "Okay, when my big sister told me I was getting a new nephew and sister, I got all excited because that would mean more people for football."

Callie groaned. Diego ignored her.

"So to start off our new expanded football team, I think the Hahn-Torres kids need some jerseys."

He handed one shirt to Lucas and the other to Allie. They unrolled them.

They were Miami Dolphins colors, but the back of the shirts said Hahn-Torres while the fronts were adorned with Lucas and Allie's name.

"Cool!" said Lucas.

"This is really big shirt," said Allie laughing. The shirt came down to her knees.

Lucas's fit him just slightly better.

"How about we start training?" said Diego picking up the two Nerf footballs.

He looked over at Erica and Callie. "Moms okay with us going outside?"

"Yes," said Callie. "Please tire them out, but be careful and you will not start trying to recruit Lucas or Allie into your football fanaticism."

"I would do no such thing," said Diego innocently, but Callie could see his eyes sparkling as Lucas snatched the ball from him.

"Jackets," said Callie as she saw Lucas head for the door.

"Aw Mommy, but we have our cool shirts."

Allie seemed okay with covering her new shirt and was already putting on her jacket.

"Why don't we take it with us and if you get cold, you'll put it on," offered Diego as a compromise.

Callie looked at Erica. "They'll be running around, it should be okay," said Erica.

Finally the kids and Diego left, the noise level returned to normal and it was just Callie and Erica.

Callie snuggled closer. "I have to check on food, but you are nice and warm."

"I'm glad your brother made it."

"Mmm, me too. Turned out I was worried for nothing. He might have to leave quickly if something breaks in his case."

"He's great with the kids."

"Yeah, but this whole present business has to stop. The kids have enough toys."

"Hey, that's what Aunts and Uncles are supposed to do," protested Erica.

"Yeah, well welcome to the other side, because he'll be gone in a few days and won't be here to deal with a thousand Legos pieces all over the house. That will be on me and you."

Erica turned and kissed her. She pulled back quickly cognizant of their guest just outside.

"I'm sorry I was gone most of the morning. Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

"Yes, but I can't hear it enough and you're here now, so everything is okay," said Callie enjoying the kiss and going for another. They got lost in the soft suckling for awhile. Finally Callie pulled away.

"We probably should not have started this little activity," she said through ragged breaths. "We have a long day ahead and too many hours before we can say goodnight to everyone."

Erica would have responded, except she was too busy enjoying the kissing.

* * *

Seriously the epilogue is next and that will be the end.


	28. Chapter 28

**TITLE:** Just a Simple Love Story (Epilogue)  
**AUTHOR: rcruz**

Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would look a lot different. The characters, settings, established histories, and general Grey's Anatomy universe referenced in this work are properties of their respective owners. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Two Years later…

* * *

Epilogue

Lucas sat with his classmates watching the clock anxiously. Five more minutes and the Thanksgiving holiday would officially begin. He couldn't put his notebook away no matter how much he wanted to. The teacher hated that and would glare at anyone who got ready to leave before the bell rang, but he was so anxious.

His grandparents were coming today, and tomorrow was pumpkin pie and football. He tugged at the aqua marine shirt he had received from his Uncle two years ago. It was worn in some places, which sucked because it finally fit him, but his Mommy said that's what happens when you wear it all the time and had to run it through the wash a lot. His leg was shaking as the seconds ticked by slowly.

Despite the fact that they were expecting it, waiting for it restlessly, wishing time would move faster so they could hear it, the bell ringing scared the daylights out of the whole classroom. Lucas jumped in his seat, but he recovered quickly. He closed his notebook, stuck his pencil in his mouth, picked up his bag and made his way to the door.

"Mr. Hahn-Torres," said his teacher in that stern voice he hated. "Jacket," she said pointing towards the hooks on the wall where most of the class had migrated as soon as the bell rang.

He started to run over, and then remembered that she hated that too, so he walked as fast as he could, grabbed his jacket and headed out not bothering to put it on. He needed out of this school. Finally he was outside. He threw the jacket, notebook and pencil on the concrete, then opened his backpack and stuffed everything in it. The jacket made his backpack bulky, but it was way better than wearing it. He hefted the bag on his back and went in search of Allie.

"Lucas!"

He turned at the sound of his name. It was Justin and Jake his buddies from pee-wee football.

"What?" he asked. "I gotta meet my sister."

"Yeah, we know," said Justin.

"Is Coach going to be at your house for Thanksgiving?" asked Jake trying to keep his backpack from sliding off his shoulder as he and Justin trotted alongside Lucas.

"Well yeah! He's my Uncle, where else would he go?" said Lucas continuing to make his way to the door Allie would be exiting from.

"Can we come over and play with you guys?"

"I have to ask my Moms. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow's the family bowl."

"Friday?" asked Justin hopefully.

"Well me and my Grandpa and Uncle Diego are watching the games on Friday."

"Can we come over and watch with you guys?" asked Jake.

Lucas wasn't sure his Moms would be happy if he had a bunch of his friends over. There would already be a bunch of people coming over all weekend long. Addy and his Uncle and his grandparents and Danielle and Sam would be there Thursday. Both his Moms had to work on Friday, so he got to spend the day watching and playing football with his Grandpa and Uncle Diego, while Allie went shopping with Grandma, so maybe they wouldn't mind if his friends came over during the day. They could play touch football and maybe Uncle Diego would take them through passing drills which had them running for long passes making spectacular catches. He knew that's what his friends were hoping for, extra time with their coach just playing the game they loved.

"Maybe, I have to ask my Moms."

"Cool!"

"Let us know okay," shouted Justin as Lucas approached his destination and Justin and Jake veered left toward their bus.

He nodded at them as he continued making his way trying to work out when he was going to fit in the homework they had gotten. Why do teachers always think days off of school meant you were lazing around your house? He definitely wasn't. There was a day of pie and football on Thursday, more pie and football on Friday during the day, then Family game night on Friday night. His Uncle had taught him and Allie poker last year, so he was looking forward to that. He wondered if Addy would come over Friday too. She had been hanging around his Uncle a lot since she moved to Seattle. Saturday he and Allie would be spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa, although he wasn't sure what they would be doing since Mommy had been really mad last year when they were taken shopping for all sorts of cool stuff. And then Sunday was just them again, his Moms and him and Allie. His Mommy would make him more pie, Allie got some disgusting rice dessert he didn't like and they could do whatever they wanted. Last year they had gone to the aquarium. He and Allie hadn't decided what they wanted to do this year yet.

He was walking on the sloping ground when Allie came into view. She was sitting on the steps just beyond the door she had exited.

* * *

Allie was waiting. She was waiting for her stupid brother like she was some baby that couldn't walk to the bus on her own. Lucas was only a year older than her. She was eight now. She could walk to the bus on her own. She had tried arguing with her Mommy about that, but her Mommy had just nodded and told her to wait for Lucas anyway. Her other Mom had hugged her when she complained and reminded her that if she waited, she could make Lucas carry her guitar.

"Hey Allison!"

Allie turned to see her friend, Sonya struggling with a tuba case.

"Are you on the bus or is someone coming to get you?"

"Bus," she answered. "Sorry, can't give you a ride today."

"It's okay," said Sonya giving up the struggle with the case and setting it down before plopping down next to Allie.

"I wish I'd pick the flute," said Sonya.

"We could change to clarinet?" offered Allie meekly, although she didn't mean it.

She loved the guitar, loved that she had her own private tutor. The guitar had versatility or at least that's what her Mom said. She wasn't sure what that meant yet. She just knew that what her Mom was teaching her to play and what she was learning at school were very different. Anytime she would say something about it, her Mom would say that word: versatility.

"Or you could get a big brother," she said matter-of-factly. "I make Lucas carry the guitar."

"Is your brother coming?" asked Sonya.

_Oh boy_.

Allie liked Sonya but ever since she had started talking about how cute Lucas was she had become very annoying. Allie rolled her eyes. She didn't understand Sonya's new fascination with her brother. She looked up and saw his aqua marine shirt bobbing her way. She also didn't understand her brother's love of all things football, but she thought she understood why he wore that shirt all the time. She had worn hers for the same reasons, it identified them as Hahn-Torres kids.

He had become a Hahn-Torres long before her. Allie Torres was her name for a long time. When she first learned to write, it was Allie Torres that she wrote over and over again on pieces of paper. But when Lucas started writing Lucas Hahn-Torres on his papers at school and she was still writing Allie Torres, it had given her a tummy ache. Her Moms and Lucas became Hahn-Torres before she did and for a long time she didn't understand why and so she wore her own jersey all the time, even though it was too big and the color was ugly because it made her feel like a Hahn-Torres.

Her Moms had tried explaining that it was just taking more time for her to be official or something, that she was already a Hahn-Torres kid. That's what her Uncle always called her too, but every time she wrote Allie Torres she felt like she wasn't. It was just this year that she got to write Allie Hahn-Torres, which was good because she could finally stop wearing the shirt. Aqua marine was an ugly color.

"Hey," said Lucas as he strolled up. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she said turning to grab her bag.

"Hey Lucas," said Sonya excitedly.

"Hi Sonya," said Lucas reaching for Allie's guitar case. "Come on Al, we gotta get to the bus. Grandma and Grandpa are coming today."

"Bye Sonya," said Allie as she hopped down the stairs and joined her brother. "Do you think they're already here Lucas?" she asked as she skipped along.

"I hope so because then no homework." He grinned.

"But I like homework," she said sheepishly.

"Wanna do mine?"

She looked mortified.

"I'm kidding" he said and sighed. "I really wish they hadn't given us homework this weekend."

They were about to hop on the bus that would take them to their block when a loud horn caught their attention. They both looked at the car making the noise and then at each other. That looked like their Mom's car. Lucas nudged Allie and she seemed to agree that the car was familiar, so they stepped out of the line of kids waiting to get on the bus.

They saw an older man getting out of the driver's side and were about to turn back to the bus disappointed that it wasn't their Mom when the old man yelled at them waving his arms.

"How are my two favorite grandchildren?" he asked.

Allie and Lucas looked at each other again before sprinting towards their grandfather. Thanksgiving had officially begun.

* * *

Erica stood making small talk with Callie's father on Thanksgiving Day waiting for the start of the big game. Her and Carlos were more comfortable with each other this year than they had been last year when they were just starting to figure each other out. Last year Erica had still been reeling over his treatment of Callie when she had come out to him. She had been short and very guarded with him last year, scrutinizing every word, every act, every gesture. She had been looking for anything that seemed out of place, any indication that his intent was to hurt her family. He had hurt Callie once. Erica would not allow him to hurt her again. But her fears had been unfounded and by the end of the weekend, she found herself pleasantly surprised at his carefree attitude, even as his children were freaking out about his behavior.

"He's not normally like this," Callie had told her. According to Callie and Diego he was usually more stoic and gruff, wanting to assert his authority in the family. But during last year's Thanksgiving he had only given his opinion when it was solicited, had never once berated Diego for his career choice, didn't complain when dinner was a little late and had said nothing to the kids as they ran through the house. Instead, more than once, it was him chasing them around the room. While it was freaking out Callie and Diego, Erica began to understand that he was trying really hard to make amends for his prior behavior.

The fact that he had put aside part of who he was for them that day was a step for him and so there were times, like today, when Erica felt bad at how harshly she had condemned him when he had rejected Callie. After all it could have been worse. He could have gone through with his threats to disown her or he could have tried to "get her help". It had been hard on Callie especially since they were also dealing with the whole David thing. But when it counted Carlos had been there and just as Callie's mother had predicted, he had eventually come around. When they're carefully laid plans to legally adopt each other's children had been blown to pieces by David, Carlos Torres had stepped up to the plate and tried to shield his daughter and her family from David's threats. Erica would forever be grateful to him for that, for at least trying in his own way to protect his daughter. That they had not needed his protection in the end did not negate the fact that he had made the offer.

She was listening to Carlos talk about real estate as she continued assessing the events of the last year. The David thing was all behind them now. Lucas and Allie were legally her and Callie's children. Callie's parents were now always finding excuses to visit; they were even contemplating buying a house in Seattle so they had somewhere to stay when they came. Diego had made no moves to return to D.C. which she suspected had to do with Addison's sudden return to Seattle.

Erica glanced at Addison standing near Diego her own jersey sporting the Torres family name. Callie had been ecstatic to have her back in Seattle and if Callie was happy, Erica was happy. She saw Diego and Addison glance up at her bedroom window and start shouting loudly for Callie. She snickered. Callie did not respond to bellows.

* * *

Callie hated the color of the jersey she wore. It was aqua for Christ's sake! She had lobbied hard for the Seattle Seahawks or even the Chicago Bears jerseys, but since her stupid brother was providing the shirts, it was Miami or nothing. Not only did she hate the color, she was actually not a fan of football, but this was their little special family bowl started last year by her brother after her father had finally come off his high horse and accepted that his daughter was happily making a life with another women.

Diego had been right. Her mother had been fine, her father had freaked and eventually come around. Actually she had been preparing for a long fight, a long period of him alienating her. But grandchildren are miraculous creatures. Her mother had been quite pleased with having a second grandchild to spoil. According to her mother, her father became more intrigued with her little family with every photo she sent him at the beginning. The David thing had also helped kick his protective instincts into gear and when it was all over her mother, father and Diego had all shown up at their house for Thanksgiving last year.

Erica had been overwhelmed and uncharacteristically nervous and on edge the whole time. The football game had surprisingly helped eased tensions. Her, Erica and the kids wore the Hahn-Torres shirts Diego had acquired for them and her Mom and Dad and Diego wore Torres shirts. Despite the fact that Callie knew very little about football, her and Erica's natural competitiveness had kicked into gear, so of course they won.

This year there was no tension. The kids were going ape-shit about having everyone over and Lucas had been wearing his worn out jersey for a week. Thankfully his Uncle had updated it this year providing a new jersey for both Allie and Lucas. She heard the muffled sound of someone calling her name and looked out the window in her bedroom. She saw Lucas and Allie tossing the ball back and forth, her Dad talking to Erica who looked surprisingly hot in the aqua marine jersey and Diego and Addison gazing up at her window with a look that said: _get your ass down here_. Her mom wasn't out there. She was not a fan of football either and was probably in the kitchen, although she would join them for the game. She was a sport about it, but she mostly just ran back and forth trying to hug her grandchildren.

Callie looked back at the mirror, accepting that she could do nothing about the hideous shirt she wore and made her way downstairs. She detoured to the kitchen where sure enough her Mom was shuffling the cooling pumpkins pies around on the counter.

"I'm trying to find the best place for them to cool," she explained at Callie's look.

"They're fine Mom. We should get out there."

Her Mom dusted her hands off and looked at her. "Okay mija, I'm going," she said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Finally Callie could put it off no longer. She checked the turkey quickly and then made her way to the front yard. The Hahn-Torres bowl was about to begin.

Erica saw Callie walk out the front door heading straight for her and Hector and got nervous. Her and Callie had been together two years and she knew Callie, knew that look. Erica's eyes shifted nervously from Callie to Hector who was innocently smiling at his daughter. Erica tried moving away, but Callie was coming fast.

"Hey Dad," she said to her father as she passed before she planted herself in front of Erica and wound arms around her neck.

"Hey gorgeous," she said pausing only a moment before kissing her.

Despite the nervousness at doing this in broad daylight while Callie's family watched, in front of Callie's father, knowing it had taken him awhile to accept them, Erica could not resist. Two years had not put a damper on this instinctual reaction she had to Callie's kisses. Thankfully the kiss was light, probably in deference to her parents, but Callie had told Erica she would not compromise on this. She would not deny this aspect of their relationship to anyone and so her parents would need to accept this side of them. She would not have them pretend her and Erica were just friends.

"Are you guys gonna kiss all day or can we play football?" she heard Lucas say and like clockwork, they could hear Allie's giggles in the background. They smiled at each other before pulling back. Erica took Callie's hand and they walked over to their team.

"Okay Hahn-Torres team, we're defending champs. Let's defend our...What do you get in football?" asked Erica directing her question at the football nut in their midst.

"Rings and trophies," said Lucas.

"Alright then, let's defend our trophies. Huddle up."

* * *

Diego watched their strange huddle. They were the weirdest family ever. The huddle consisted of Erica on one knee; Allie draped across Erica's back, her tiny arms around Erica's neck, Callie crouching, but stroking Erica's hand absently and Lucas. Only Lucas seemed to know what the hell a huddle was. He had one arm around Callie and one on Allie's back, as he leaned forward to listen or was he the one talking?

He turned to Addison.

"It's up to us you know. The old folks are just gonna chase after Lucas and Allie and let me tell you both the Hahn-Torres kids can run, so that's a bust. We have to take out supermoms. You take Erica, I've got Callie."

"Shouldn't you take Erica?" she asked looking over at Erica nervously.

"Nope, too scared," he said smiling.

"Coward," she said before wandering off in search of water.

His father walked up to him. "When are you going to make that official?" he asked tilting his head toward Addison.

"I'm working on it," said Diego nervously clutching the football in his hands.

"Getting her a Torres jersey doesn't count as making it official," said Hector before turning and making his way to his own water.

"Yeah, I know," said Diego to the empty space left by his father.

Finally they were lining up and getting ready for the coin toss.

"Seriously, no broken bones," he heard his sister proclaim. "I swear to God, if this results in anything broken on anyone, we're done."

"Mommy," he heard Lucas whine.

Diego laughed. "No one's ever broken anything, sis."

She glared at him and then he remembered the series of calls he had received last fall. The first was from a panicked and pissed off Callie cursing him for ever bringing a football into her house. The second from his equally panicked and distraught mother who had threatened him with his life for putting her precious grandson in danger with the whole football thing. The third had been from his father berating him for not teaching Lucas how to fall properly. The fourth had been from Erica who asked how he was doing before calmly explaining that Lucas had a minor sprain on his wrist. She instructed him to ignore all the frantic calls from his mother and sister and then teased him mercilessly for having an overdramatic family.

He noticed Addison walking back and stared as she sauntered over in that enticing way that had him actually turning his head slightly so he could take in every sexy inch of her. She had been the final call he received that day, but that call had nothing to do with Lucas and his sprained wrist and everything to do with her new living situation. It had been made him happier than he thought possible that she had decided to return to Seattle and he had suddenly understood how those impossible grins Callie always seemed to be sporting were produced.

"Alright, let's get this thing started, so we can eat. Lucas, heads or tails?" asked Erica.

The Hahn-Torres team had elected him captain, but he had insisted that Erica be co-captain with him. Lucas thought for a minute before shouting "Heads!"

"Here we go folks," said Diego as he tossed the coin in the air signaling the start of the Hahn-Torres Bowl.

The End

* * *

**Thanks for taking this long journey with me. I hope you all enjoyed. For those of you interested, there is a sequel in the works called Family. **


End file.
